One of the essential elements necessary for a healthy garden is water. An obvious statement, but one that container gardeners always need to keep in mind. While plants in the garden can get water from the ground if you don't water them for a day or two, container plants can't store much water and are reliant on you to keep them moist and refreshed.
Over the weekend, my husband and I went to Columbus for a wedding. We left Saturday morning and came back Sunday afternoon. I meant to water my plants before I left, but it was early in the morning, and I will be the first to tell you that I am not a morning person. So I forgot to water my plants on Saturday, and they were left to fend for themselves on a hot, sunny day.
By the time I came home on Sunday afternoon, though they'd only gone about 42 hours without being watered, some of my container plants were not happy. The pea plants were curling up and my strawberry plants had flipped their leaves over, something they do when they're thirsty. The cottage garden fared better - my hydrangea was drooping a little, but my other plants seemed fine.
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I picked the first fresh veggies from my garden on Monday — peas.
After a good soaking on Sunday, everything quickly bounced back.
In fact, on Monday, I harvested my first peas.
I love getting those first fruits (or vegetables) of the garden. It's such a thrill to pick a tomato - or in my case this week, pea pods - and say, "I grew that." And then you get to eat it!
Peas are one of my favorite vegetables, but my experience with them has mainly been with the kind you get in the freezer case. A fellow gardener I met at the wedding said that fresh peas are fun to snack on while you're working in the garden. I don't have that much garden to work with, so my gardening chores never take so long that I feel I need a snack, but that didn't stop me from popping open one of the pods as soon as I came in from the garden to taste my first veggies.
They were sweet and delicious, all the more so because it was the first time I'd grown them.
According to my online research, gardeners should plant 2 to 4 feet of pea plants per person to actually have enough to feed a family. I probably have enough peas to snack on, but not enough for a full meal. That's OK - I had the fun of growing them anyway.
Share your gardening stories and hints with me at mwyko@tribtoday.com