Competitive gardening razes stakes
My lovely wife has been growing tomatoes in our backyard for several years. She buys small plants, enriches her garden bed with fresh soil and fertilizer, digs holes in the loam that holds the seedlings and then carefully tends to them during the summer until the plants bloom and produce those rich, red fruits.
I like the idea of a garden. But I don’t like the idea of having to spend so much time and energy weeding and caring for one.
My wife chides me for this and can’t understand my reluctance to grovel in the dirt. She can’t seem to grasp that it’s something that doesn’t really interest me. We will soon be married 25 years and, thanks to her, in all that time I have learned the names of about four flowers (and wouldn’t be able to distinguish a pepper plant from a weed). When mowing the grass, I will deliberately leave plants grow because I’m not sure if they are flowers or weeds. Eventually, my wife will ask why I’m not chopping them down. That’s when I know they aren’t flowers.
However, a few years ago, a company began advertising a tomato-growing system that intrigued me. The implement looks like an upside-down sack and the plant grows out its bottom. It reminded me of a hydroponics system we saw at an amusement park some years ago. Hydroponics is a way of growing plants in a mineral-rich solution of water. No soil is used.
I thought about ordering one of the products but I’m not keen on buying stuff I see on TV. To my surprise, one of our local discount stores had a supply of exactly what had been advertised. I couldn’t resist. I bought two: one for tomatoes and one for strawberries.
Fortunately, they weren’t very expensive because when I got home and began to study how the system works, I realized I will have to buy plants and garden soil. That’s where the work begins. But it ends there, too. Unlike grubbing around on your hands a knees, weeding, staking, keeping pests away, I just fill the bags with soil, stick in the plants, hang them up and water them occasionally.
Although my wife doesn’t know it yet, I plan on competing with her to see who gets the most tomatoes. I figure I will, since my plants (according to the advertising that came with the growing system) will give up to 30 pounds worth. Tomato plants also can produce into the fall, provided the weather remains warm enough, so I’m looking forward to a very bountiful harvest.
This has given me another idea: I’ve always wanted to grow corn but never had enough space to do so. If this grow-from-a-bag thing works, I may try to plant corn in hanging bags. Of course to get the height I need, I’ll have to attach them to the gutters on the house. But think of the convenience: All I have to do is step outside and pick a few ears.
I’m sure my wife will go for that plan.
Right. If I try it, one of those bags hanging from the gutters will be me.
Have a good day.
James Pletcher Jr. is Herald-Standard business editor. He can be reached at 724-439-7571 or by e-mail at jplertcher@heraldstandard.com
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