Late Spring Planting in the Garden



View of staked tomato plants from an upper terrace in the garden



In April, we planted potatoes and onions in our vegetable garden.  They go into the ground early because of their longer growing season and because they need the cool spring nights to get started.  They should be ready to harvest in just a few short weeks.  Last week, we finished the second stage of planation.  We have the usual suspects – tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, and squash, alongside some herbs and berries, which are about to finish their production.

Our neighbor, Madame Gousse, starts all her plants from seed and years ago, would give Christophe the extra seedling that did not fit into her garden.  As the years went by, she simple began seeding more and more and now provides us with all our annual vegetables.  Depending how the seeds took, the amount of vegetables we have each year can vary, but it usually is in the neighborhood of 150 seedlings to plant.  In past years, we tackled this planation all in a single day.  At first, it was fun, but like many big projects there comes a time when the end seems too far away and the amusement of it has been zapped away.  We would drag ourselves back to the house in twilight wanting only a shower and a place to sit down.

Happily, this year is different.  We finally wised up and spread out the job over a few days.  We planted 10 different varieties of tomatoes, 70 in all, and got them staked up to new reeds Christophe cut down from the river bank.  Then, the next day, we finished with the rest of the plants.  And you know what?  The fun came back.  We found the pleasure of planting a garden again.  I know the garden is work; days will come when I am tired and I’ll come back to the house coated in sweat and dirt.  But I’m happy to re-find the anticipation of planting something with hopes of how it will turn out instead of just wanting the job to be done.