This year I ordered some plants via catalog. I ordered strawberries which are doing pretty well, and 2 grapes, because I've wanted to try them for a long time. The grapes arrived looking like sticks, but with healthy looking roots. They were absolutely brown sticks, nothing more. I planted them maybe two weeks ago, and each time I look at them, they look like sticks. Just a few minutes ago, I walked out to look at them and one has actual new growth on it! I'm so excited. So here are pictures. The first one is of the second plant with no growth on it looking very much like a stick.
These show you some of the growth on one of the limbs...look for the pink buds.
My grandparents always had enormous gardens, and my grandmothers canned and froze a lot. They made jellies and jams and canned green beans and made apple butter and froze the most delicious corn I have ever had. My childhood memories involve eating fried apples and applesauce that they made themselves after picking the apples. I could cry thinking about it. All of my grandparents are gone now, and my kids never had a chance to meet them. When I found out that I was pregnant with MK, I had the opportunity to tell my grandfather about it, but he had slipped pretty far into dementia by then, so I'm not sure how much he understood, and he passed away before she was born. My dad also has a garden, and I learned to love zucchini and kohlrabi because of it.
I think they are all a big part of why I take so much delight in gardening, even though I don't produce nearly what they did. I love to watch things grow and to feel like I'm really doing something. I'm not crafty in any way, but this is my creative outlet.
My dream is to live in the country and have an enormous garden. But for now, I am happily planted in the suburbs where I will continue to garden my little piece of earth.
1 comment:
My grandparents had huge gardens, too - and my maternal grandmother had grape vines and made her own jelly, etc. I don't think I ate store bought jelly until I was in high school. We always had so many jars of her homemade jelly in the cabinet. I would like to try growing grapes some time, too. We make apple butter every year, but I've never made jam or jelly. I'm enjoying the updates about your garden! Can't wait to start having updates about mine - it is just very sad right now.
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