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Sept 2008
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Eydie's Excerpts
The Garden of Eydie
Eydie, Eydie, not too speedy, How does your garden grow? With weeds and peas And things from seeds And with stuff I do not know!
This is my second attempt. My first was quite successful and took place at my first house in Rockland County, New York. That was in 1970 something. The tomatoes, eggplants and cucumbers were delicious. The watermelon never made it,
Next, I lived in Pleasanton, CA, and didn't attempt a garden there. On to Las Vegas where no one has a garden, at least that I know of. The egg fried up perfectly on the driveway. No vegetation could withstand that kind of heat except for palm trees and the roses that bloomed in the spring.
Maybe it was the salmonella scare, the rising price of food, the price of gas just to shop or trying to get my thumb to turn green after such a long hiatus. Green is in so I'm giving gardening a shot. Gardens are supposed to do well here in the Truckee Meadows.
The area is chosen. David surrounds it with chicken wire to keep the bunnies out. Topsoil pours out in droves coupled with peat moss to make up the soil. David installs drop irrigation so I won't have to water by hand every day as I did back east. Everything is ready for the first planting.
The garden sits empty while I wait for the freezing weather to give up its stranglehold. May 1st beckons me to plant something. In go romaine lettuce and 6 pea plants. I know I have to wait to plant tomatoes. All looks good. Gee, do we get frost in May? Good-bye pea plants save for one stubborn plant that hangs on. Since lettuce is cool weather oriented, they thrive. I remember that marigolds kept bugs off my roses so I plant them in the garden. At least it makes things look pretty.
Finally I am ready for the big stuff, the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. When you purchase plants today, they come ready to just drop in a hole in the garden. Sure, you have to remove the plastic around the top but it's that easy. I peer at my plantings every day but like the saying a watched pot never boils, my tiny plants seem to stagnate.
Every morning I rush out to check on them and pamper them with more water and Miracle Gro. I talk to my garden and plead with the plants to grow nice and tall. Finally, I just yell at them. Who said talking to plants works? Still nothing. Weeks pass and then I see it. Flowers form on the tomato plants. I notice a single tomato and I go bonkers. Good plant and good tomato. I look around to make sure no one is listening to me.
The weather warms up and so does my garden. There are peas on my pea plant, lots of tomatoes on the vines, peppers growing, egg plants appearing alongside cucumber plants and a lone parsley plant. The lettuce is ready for picking. I pull off a few leaves and hand them to David. 
Furiously he runs for an antidote to the bitter taste of what is supposed to be romaine lettuce. Maybe it's too early to pick so I wait and wait. The plants grow bigger and look pretty but the leaves are still bitter. I give it to a bunny. Online, I learn that romaine lettuce will lose its bitter taste if it gets cleaned and refrigerated. I wish I had learned this before I got rid of it.
I'm eating peas off the vine. I envision all the pea plants I could have had.
Two tomatoes are turning red. They beg to be picked and I oblige. It's true that home grown tomatoes are the only ones with that unbelievable taste. Store bought ones taste like cardboard now. Out of the 4 tomato plants, 3 are doing well and producing fruit. One has flowers but no tomatoes. The heat must have gotten to it but I'm okay with that.
Peppers blaze in the sun. They look so pretty and taste even better, as they turn from green to red. I have 3 eggplants plants. I look up recipes online. If you have any easy recipes and would like to share, I'd be grateful. Eggplant parmigan is the only tried and true one I know.
The cucumbers keep sprouting flowers and are slowly producing cukes. My neighbor Casey has a solution to speed up the process. He says bees are not pollinating the plants and advises me to do it for them. I take a small paintbrush and dust the male flower and transfer it to the female flower. I do not know what I'm doing but I guess it can't hurt.
I deem my first garden here a success. I'm not sure it's worth it money wise with all the stuff I had to buy. But eating what I've grown myself, with a little help, is supremely worth it. The Garden of Eydie came through with flying colors and will return next year bigger and better.
(Questions or comments are always appreciated: eydies@aol.com)