"I Got My Garden In"

I am writing to announce that, with a lot of effort, "I got my garden in".

These words echo through my head, a distant memory from my childhood. From the time I can remember that I could remember things, my family had a garden. My grandparents had gardens. My aunts and uncles had gardens. I believe I inherited this green gene from both sides.

Friends and other family members would always ask my folks (when I was little) "Did you get your garden in?"
See, it was a race against time and weather: greens in by St. Patrick's Day, summer veggies in after the last frost. But what if there was a late frost? Too wet? Too dry? Hail? Deluge? Winter drought? You had to sneak those little seeds in the ground at the most optimal time. Anyway, it gave them all something to talk about for weeks. That's country life people. It was our way of life.

My delightful husband rented me a tiller (at my persistant request) because I was absolutely killing myself with digging and hoeing weeds. It helped a lot but my arm and back muscles are protesting today.
So I tilled yesterday, then tonight after dinner planted spinach, lettuces, arugala, radishes, and purple carrots; asparagus crowns to come soon. It was finally a gorgeous evening! I also introduced Ethan to the world of gardening and planting...just like my parents did when I was five. Ethan was a little heavy-handed with the carrot seeds - there's going to be an area of about 20 growing on top of each other. Sweet boy.

So Mom and Dad, if anyone back home asks, you can tell them "Hey, Amy got her garden in!" They will understand exactly what you mean, and they may even sympathize with my upcoming hardships!