March 29, 2026
You know that nursery rhyme, MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY, HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? Well, historically mine has not had silver bells and cockle shells, and pretty maids all in a row!
Last fall, as I was lifting the tomato cages off the dead plants, I vowed not to try a garden again. Weeds had engulfed the small area. NO MORE GARDEN! The Tuesday farmers’ market and Deal’s Orchard will serve as our source for fresh veggies.
The season of spring creates that feeling of “Hope springs eternal.” In the past I have planted my small garden behind the machine shed so it is not viewable from the road, as it invariably turns into weeds.
The garden area always looks so plush and ready for seeds after the rototilling. Rich black soil, softened by the tiller. Maybe a few hills of potatoes, planted on Good Friday, and some tomato plants? Maybe one or two hills of pumpkins for the Grands or neighborhood children? Our sweet corn for the extended family is planted at the edge of a cornfield, so it is not in the garden area.
It happens overnight. I mow the lawn near the garden area, and it looks nice. I can see the potatoes emerging, and the stakes have been placed around the tomatoes and secured with old panty hose, but then the next week it has become almost solid green with that deplorable quack grass.
This spring I did not receive any seed catalogs which helped me to retain my resolve of NO GARDEN for us.
All was good until yesterday, when our neighbor called and wondered if we had a rototiller he could rent. Happy at having a neighbor we know and trust, we said “Of course, you can use it. No reimbursement necessary.” He wanted to compensate us, so I indicated he could use the rototiller on the portion that was to be the former garden.
Now the seed display at the grocery store is holding more interest. Maybe a row of beans and peas in addition to the planned potatoes and tomatoes.
Maybe some pepper plants as peppers make an addition for a tasty salad; and if I put cucumbers close to the edge of the garden, they could go out onto the lawn? Maybe, if I am more disciplined this year, it will not turn into the usual haven for quack grass.
Ask me in August!
As some of you may know I am one of the many people serving on the Greene County Historical Society student-led “Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey” project. I am going to add a trivia question at the end of each column. Here is this week’s question. Come back for the answer in two weeks!! No prizes, rather creating some knowledge about Greene County’s history.
Who was the lead instructor for the 32 Rippey Schoolboy Soldiers who answered President Lincoln’s call for volunteers to fight in the War of the Rebellion for the North? This gentleman returned to Greene County and Jefferson to become a prominent leader.
VIEW FROM MY WINDOW is shared by Mary Weaver of rural Rippey.
