Garden State

I wrote last year about my foray into an herb garden. Building on incremental success (the oregano, mint, thyme and rosemary are thriving, the chives, lavender and sage surviving, after the winter), I added a few new things: tarragon, leeks, parsley, habanero and poblano peppers. I also planted some more basil seedlings, four jalapeno plants (last year's breakout star), and sowed some basil and onions from seed.

Everything seems to have taken root, and today, on the way to the bus, the BG and I noticed that the basil from seed has sprouted, which augurs well for her beloved pesto. The parsley, however, appears to have been sampled, and I fear that it may not pass the too-pungent-for-deer-to-eat test.

And the problem of the tomato cages (G-Lo's gift from Christmas) persists. I asked at the local nursery how I might protect them from cervine interlopers and was directed towards two sprays: one that smelled bad and one that didn't, equally popular with the locals.

Worldwide wrinkled her nose at the idea of chemicals, and was not amused by the idea of a moat, which though it would admittedly be expensive, would be a great conversation piece for the neighbourhood. I'm not sure where this is headed. I am balancing the twin desires for fresh food all summer and minimal effort. An hour a week is as much time as I want to spend on gardening. At least for now, anyway. The garden has doubled in size each year, and at that rate, I will be covering all of North Carolina in a decade or so.