The Dangers of Gardening

This is a very treacherous time of year for me.

I have finally started being able to run about 10-15 miles a week without noticing it on my repairing back, and do some weight lifting regularly. I can touch my toes, and bicycle without fear. I am normal sized again, and feel okay in shorts.

But it's gardening time--what racked me up in the first place for all of last summer.

So far, I have been able to slowly get my flowers and veggies in the ground in small increments. Weeds are being removed by either my sons' strong young hands and backs or myself on hands and knees and not bent over. Still--the garden was a jungle from my not being able to weed last year. My sons cannot always differentiate from plant friend or foe, so the delicate stuff is up to me.

My back is pinging, and so it is all going very slowly.

The garden is ambitious. So far I have mustard, romaine and mesclun lettuces, spinach, mache, onions, breadseed poppies, 6 varieties of peppers, beat-spinach greens, kohlrabi and 4 tomato plants planted. I have 12 tomato plants to go, and will also fit in basil, amaranth, cucamelons, lemon cucumbers and about 12 marigold plants to guard the tomato plants from tomato horn worm. Perennials to maintain are grapes, asparagus, chives, and gold raspberries. Sprouting and growing indiscriminately is salsify, also known as oyster plant.

The problem with coming back and almost being healed from a debilitating back injury is how easy it can be to re-injure yourself with a bad lift or bend.

The garden is shaping up. It is beautiful. It is dangerous. It is calling to me.