And maybe a few hauntings…
It’s been a while since our last garden update, and I wish I could say it’s all sunshine and zucchinis- but unfortunately, we’ve had a few casualties this season.
We lost one of the cantaloupe plants and one of the watermelons. I’m not sure whether to blame the weird spring climate or the plants themselves (which, full disclosure, weren’t chosen by me), but either way, it’s frustrating. We also lost all of the bush cucumbers- those long green ones. They weren’t my favorite, but I still didn’t want them to just shrivel up and die.
I know what some of you seasoned gardeners might be thinking: Sky, why would you buy plants that looked half-dead to begin with? Fair question, but I didn’t. Every year, a close friend buys me my garden plants for Mother’s Day- a tradition carried over from when he did the same for my grandmother. He gifts them to me in return for half the yield. A beautiful gesture, even when the selection isn’t ideal. I know I call myself The Crippled Cryptid but… I don’t claim to be a necromancer, if it’s already dead, I can’t bring it back and make it grow.
Unfortunately, this year, the plants from Home Depot were just… tragic. Crispy leaves, stem rot, visible blight- it was not a good crop. And there’s apparently a cucumber recall floating around, which might explain some of it (though that could also be a convenient excuse for the big box stores to save face).
But you know me- my stubbornness is a force of nature.
I refused to go a year without green beans and sugar snap peas. So, The Moss Maiden and I made it our mission to hunt them down. After checking three different Home Depots (yes, really) and Ace Hardware (don’t ask), we finally struck gold at a local nursery: Harm’s Farm. Their plants were beautiful, full of life, and clearly loved. We brought home both green beans and sugar snap peas. The peas are already five inches tall and climbing the trellis like they’ve got somewhere to be. Victory.
While we were there, a big, gorgeous yellow grape tomato plant practically begged us to come home. It already had flowers and fruit starting, and it smelled like summer in a pot with a trellis two sizes two small. It was begging for the garden soil and I couldn’t say no.
On a return trip to replace the doomed cucumbers, The Moss Maiden sweet-talked me into bringing home a stunning Cocozelle zucchini plant, and I talked her into a leafy yellow straightneck squash. The real treasure, though? One lonely radish plant sitting in the cucumber spot- her favorite. She thought she’d miss out this year, but the garden gods smiled on her.
And yes- we finally got cucumbers! Two beautiful vining pickling cucumber plants that are already unfurling fresh leaves and preparing to climb. I swear I didn’t kill the bush cucumbers just so these would have a home, I wouldn’t do that.
In the “unexpected but hopeful” category, we also brought home a clearance elderberry bush from Meijer for $1.50. Right now, it’s a literal stick with some dirt. They originally wanted ten bucks for it, which should honestly be a crime. But if it takes root? It is totally worth it. –sadly, future Sky popping in to inform you that I’m pretty sure the Elderberry stick has perished.
Of course, not everything is new. Some familiar faces are still holding strong: raspberry bushes, our regular zucchini, roma, sweetheart, and slicer tomatoes, stoplight sweet bell peppers, jalapeños, and the trio of chives from my grandmother’s original garden- Han Chung, purple flowering chives, and the standard non-flowering variety.
Her old asparagus patch has finally started to show signs of life too, alongside surprise appearances from burdock, rhubarb, yarrow, and even some rogue carrots that appeared in our garden beds but we have no intention of evicting them. Our cilantro apparently decided to rise from the dead- either it’s perennial (news to me) or some forgotten seeds waited until the perfect moment to sprout. Either way, we’re happy to see it back.
Our garden might not be what we planned, but it’s becoming something wonderful anyway. A mix of memory and stubbornness, with a little luck and a lot of love.
Stay tuned for more updates-and hopefully, a summer full of good things.
Speaking of updates, today is June 17th, I planned to post this last week, and then life unfortunately got the better of me. Today, the Brain Goblins (depression, anxiety, etc. All that bad stuff…) have gotten me, so I decided to post one of my drafts, I’m pleased to inform you that we have zucchini flowers, all of our tomatoes are flowering, and our yellow grape tomato has fruit. -I may even get to eat one today.
My happy little garden gnome, the Moss Maiden also got to eat her first two radishes yesterday. Progress. Not perfection.
Sometimes, you just have to make the best out of a bad situation- even if you are having a bad brain day like me. And if you’re anywhere near us in Illinois, where it’s 90 degrees outside, please drink water, and try to keep out of the sun!
– Sky 🌱
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