Some of the seedlings are beginning to show their very first signs of life. Endive, basil, and tomatoes. The peppers and eggplant will take longer to germinate but will get caught up in their own time.
My latest order from Victory Seeds came in, and we now have a replenished supply of seeds for radishes, beets, and beans (still no idea where those damn seeds wandered off to, but I’m definitely keeping better track of this new batch). Last night the Mr and I went around to a few different stores in search of the perfect trash can to use for a compost bin and came home, instead, with more seeds. One of our local places now carries seeds from Seeds of Change, so I snatched up a pack of zucchini, a pack of watermelon, and a pack of roma tomatoes since I used the last of ours this year (and I’m not yet sure that they’re going to germinate).
All of this gardening business is exciting in the beginning. I dream of it all November and December. I rejoice when a seed catalog finds its way to my mailbox. I ooh and ahh over all the different options. I plant my little seeds, dreaming of the fabulous plants they’ll become and the delicious food we’ll eat.
I have my doubts, however, and fear this will wear off and exciting will become a dreaded chore. We’ve not had much luck the last few years, though every year we get a few more things right. Last year we had fantastic plans and were sure things would work out great, only to sabotage ourselves by not getting the trellises installed like we needed to. This year we have even more plans – layers of newspaper, cardboard, and straw to prevent weed invasion, actually getting trellises built/installed, milk jugs buried between plants for deep watering, etc – but I fear that it’ll just be another disappointing year. We don’t have a great track record with doing what we need to do despite our best intentions. I know each year is a fresh start and a chance to get things right, but I can’t help but feel like we might just fail again. And that’s frustrating.
