Damp, Drizzly, Delightful!

I admit it; not my preferred environment. After a week of clouds, rain and a few spots of sunshine, one thing is extremely welcome: Warmth. It is difficult to be awash with appreciation when the weather pattern gives nearly daily rainfall. Rain is necessary. I for one think we should schedule it. My schedule is as follows: 1/4 inch of rain on Wednesday nights, 3/4 inch on Saturday nights. I have seen that schedule actually happen. It is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately, it is not reality based. Receiving rainfall is a gardening blessing, whenever it comes. In case you didn’t realize it, we are among the fortunate ones rain-wise. If you don’t believe me, check with the farmers in California or Brazil. We should be giddy.

The water shortages for farmers has caused concern for many with regard to produce prices and their near certainty of ascending. It is a good time to be a gardener. As a kid I have vivid recollections of working in my grandmother’s garden. I also fondly remember raiding her freezer for strawberries and her “root cellar” for sauerkraut. Wonderful stuff. Nannie (that’s what we called her) ALWAYS had plenty to eat, no matter what time of year it was. She rarely went to the store. She therefore had difficulty opening packaged products correctly. She would open waxed milk cartons (remember those?) on the side opposite the arrow. This usually necessitated puncturing that side with a butcher knife. She consistently opened boxes of cereal/crackers on the wrong end. She would use a can opener to open cans that had a “key”. She did not grow up with ‘store-bought’ stuff.

Here is something to ponder as we approach the gardening season in earnest. This may be the year when you decide to increase your garden and do more canning/freezing. It might be the year when you look at your limited space and plan square foot/container/straw bale gardening. Whatever you decide, we’re here to help!

David Bates

p.s. Nannie believed soap operas were real; she didn’t grow up with T.V. either!