Here’s a timely piece for “This and That”

Goodbye Winter-Hello Spring!  

            Now that it’s finally warming up, it’s time for growing our tasty veggies. Ruthie and I are so nuts for our home grown ones that half the yard is a garden for them. And yeah, it’s still too cold for tomato and cucumber plants. But last week I planted seeds outside for the hardier stuff. When finished I had seed rows of carrots, radishes, and onions-quite a few actually-in our planter boxes.

             Seeing me bent over the boxes late the next day, Ruthie came over. “So, Garden Boy, what are you doing?”

            Eyes glued to the rows, I groused, “Nuts! Nothing’s sprouted yet!”

            She rolled up her eyes. “Honestly, Gilbert, they just went in yesterday!” (She calls me “Gilbert”, never “Dear” when seeing me act a bit…strangely). 

            “Well, the seed packets claim these are very fast-growing. I’m just checking.”

            Shaking her head, she laughed, “It’s getting dark! If you’re going to keep standing here…ha-ha!-want the flashlight?”

            She was right, I was being a goof. It was getting darker by the minute and the temperature was dropping. Then I groaned, “Did I just see a snowflake?” The weather guy had said it might snow, but only a little. Suddenly nervous I added, “Maybe we should tarp over these boxes.”

            “Gilbert, a little snow cover won’t hurt them. Let’s go inside.”

             I got up early the next morning, looked out the window, and? A little my eye! We'd been hit with six inches! Fortunately, the seed packets had also said these carrots and stuff are tough enough to handle it-which left the big question. Could I?

            Ruthie couldn’t. She yelled, “Get in here! Your radishes will survive but you’ll catch pneumonia!”

            Resigned, kind-of, I settled for peeking at the seeds I’d also planted in basement boxes beneath fluorescent lights. And lo, there they were, sprouts from our broccoli, cauliflower, beets, basil, and Ruthie’s dumb marigold seeds-jillions of them!

            Joining me moments later, she gasped, “Good grief, Gilbert, how much broccoli did you plant?” (I’m also called that when she’s ticked off).

             And yeah, I might’ve overdone it a tad. “Well, I’ve already thinned them, so no problem.”

            “No? Well, Garden Boy, that still leaves…” She started counting.

            Having already done that, I finished for her, “…thirty-four.” (There are. I just now went down and recounted them). And sure, much as we love the stuff, I had to admit-that’s a lot of broccoli. Not counting the cauliflower, another three dozen or so. As she went back up the stairs muttering something about having to buy another freezer, I did a double take at the beet sprouts. Already a couple inches tall and very healthy-looking, there had to be three or four hundred of them. Luckily, our pal Rita likes them, or else we’ll be buried beneath beets. She’ll be good for five or six bushels-I hope.

            Anyhow, I can’t wait ‘til a few weeks from now. Then I can zoom over to our local nursery for the delicate varieties of seedlings; tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, peppers, and you name it. The only problem; I’m restricted from going there without adequate supervision-by you know who.

            Meantime this morning I looked at the outside boxes and yep, the snow is gone and all that stuff is poking up. In fact, Ruthie just now went out there to see them, too- which might be my other problem any second. So, can any of you readers come over in a few weeks for some carrots and radishes-lots lots of them?  

            “Gilbert!!!”