The green thumb in our family belongs to wife Beverly. Over the years she has accumulated an extensive mental catalog of innovative ways to garden.
I enjoy gardening, and in more recent years have offered my assistance, which usually has to do with shoveling manure and shoring up knee-high four-by-eight-boxes.
With the COVID-19 keeping us mostly homebound this spring, we have planted whole seed potatoes, onion sets and green beans in sturdy plastic containers.
Because the beans grow to a height that makes for an easy harvest, they made sense to me.
The potato gig is another matter. Somewhere during the winter Beverly picked up the idea from a master gardener on YouTube.
My fervent hope is the green beans and potatoes ripen at the same time. Few things tickle my palate more than those two cooked up together, with a little bacon or ham thrown in for seasoning.
We also have planted three varieties of what my Dad and Granddad Oliphant called mango peppers due to their green, red and yellow colors.
Radishes planted a week or so ago have yet to emerge. I hope I didn’t get carried away with the fertilizer. Beverly said she intends to replant.
Marigolds border the vegetables. Their job is to discourage offensive bugs. Other flowers have been added throughout our backyard, along with a few out front.
I had what I thought was a keen idea when I happened onto a roll of rusty barbed wire during one of my sojourns through a friendly timber. Why not use it as a decoration between two or three bushes and I’ll come up with another to even up the display. Reluctantly, Beverly acquiesced. I think the rusty wire adds some panache, but then my sense of such things is heavily influenced by Zane Grey, one of my favorite Old West novelists.
By the way, if you haven’t read Grey’s “The Lone Star Ranger,” you should. Gunslinger Buck Duane has an intriguing story.
So, this is a bit of a smidgen of the story about our Victory Garden in the war against the coronavirus pandemic. If you’ve a little space for a garden I highly recommend it. It’s a good way to add a little spice to life and fresh, home-grown vegetables to the dinner table.
