However small your garden, you must provide for two of the serious gardener’s necessities, a tool shed and a compost heap. – Ann Scott

It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato. – John Denver, American singer, songwriter, actor, environmentalist (1943-1997)

Trying to start a new food plot in the raised beds zaps a lot of energy. We’ve been working on making a good compost bin for a couple of years now; maybe longer. It lay dormant over the winter, and now it’s time to give up some good earth. All of our wet food garbage goes into the bin, as well coffee grounds along with the coffee filters. We haven’t exactly found a perfect way of separating filters from grounds. I’d like to think the paper filters could biodegrade but that might not happen in our lifetime. So, I spent a good part of one day chopping the compost soil, dragging the coffee filters out with a hoe, smashing a few eggshells, and plucking the wayward weed here and there. The compost soil was looking great, damp, dark, and rich. I caught glimpses of wiggly worms. That’s a really good sign.

Setting the hoe aside I picked up my shovel and started moving compost soil into the wheelbarrow. I delivered the soil to the raised beds inside the greenhouse, then topped the soil with store-bought potting soil. Behind the greenhouse were some mostly rusted tomato cages. I dragged them around and into the greenhouse. Cages meant for the raised beds were lined up and pushed into the ripe soil. There were several large pots reserved for tomato plants so I bent the lower prongs on the cages and jammed them into the pots. Time to plant.

First tomato plants into the pots secured by the cages. Everything else except maybe herbs would go into the raised beds. Cages that were jabbed into the soil of the raised beds would support yellow squash, eggplant, zucchini, sweet red peppers. Behind the cages were four sweet green pepper plants.

Parsley, dill and basil went into smaller pots. I think I should find some cilantro as it was required for the recipe I made that same night. I chopped a handful of parsley instead. Not quite the same.

The next day it was time for watering. I have a few watering cans but mostly keep used gallon plastic jugs so that I have maybe a dozen. With a dozen watering containers, you can fill them and disperse them among the plants and not have to carry jugs of water all over the greenhouse and yard. I avoid using the water hose where possible because most plants don’t like their leaves wet. Also, the hose can be quite heavy and cumbersome to reach all the plants. You can also poke small holes in the lower part of the plastic water jugs, leave them beside the plants and let the plants water themselves.

My last chore of the day included filling the greenhouse watering can with liquid fertilizer and water. I grabbed the handle only to see the prettiest little baby garter snake inside the empty watering can. I grabbed the handle and headed for the door to fling the watering can outside and release the garter snake into the outside garden. The pretty little snake was undulating out the spout. With that, I threw the watering can into a flower bed allowing the snake to live another day.

Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].

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