Back in the business of growing vegetables again

For a couple of years, the lot next door to our downtown home served as a community garden.

It was perfect. We could plant a half a city lot with corn, tomatoes, basil, peppers of all kinds and heat levels, squash and whatever else we decided to grow.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the market. The lot was purchased and the garden fell victim to urban renewal. In its place is a spectacular home under construction.

Last year, I took a defeatist attitude and didn’t mess much with the garden. We had a couple of raised beds on the side of the house. In went some tomatoes, peppers and not much else.

Well, I am here to tell you the weeds won and there was little produce picked or eaten out of the make-shift garden.

This year’s going to be different, though. The raised beds had to be moved because the two-story home with seven spires has created a total eclipse on that side of our house. For the record, I am not complaining, just noting a fact. Besides, there is not a thing wrong with total eclipse if you are going to get great neighbors.

Which brings us to this year.

About a month ago, with spring bearing down on us, critical agricultural decisions had to be made in the heat of the moment. And they had to be made fast.

The first decision was a simple one. The raised beds on the side of the house would be moved into the backyard. That is easier said than done, but it could be done. Once they were removed, a more difficult decision had to be made.

It made more sense to take the two bed frames and turn it into one really raised bed. The advantage to this is that the bed is now almost thigh-high, which means no more kneeling to weed and pick. It also puts the weeds at a huge disadvantage. The dirt from the two beds easily filled the deeper one.

Now, the real problem: We have four dogs and they are diggers of the highest order. A raised bed was not an obstacle, but rather a challenge.

It did not take long for the onions we planted to get buried in a crush of dirt displaced by a large paw.

Back to the drawing board. Another neighbor had taken up his white picket fence in anticipation of the new fence going up around the new house. He was nice enough to give it to me.

Now, this is where planning — not my strong suit — comes into play. If we were going to have one raised bed, why not build a second one? So, that’s what we did. Just like the first one, it is higher off the ground for ease of tending it.

It took three yards of sand and dirt to fill the dang thing. But now we can double up on the produce, which is a good thing.

It was at that point the picket fence came in handy. The two beds were fenced in. There was an immediate victory: Picket fence, 1, Dogs 0. The game is still in progress, but it looks like there is a chance for something good to happen here.

Tomatoes are already on the plants. There are a few peppers, too. Looks like the dozen or so strawberry plants are going to yield enough to keep us in shortcake for the foreseeable future.

Life is good again.

I can go out and water the garden in the morning or maybe in the evening. Getting water to the raised beds is not the chore it once was.

I feel good about what’s growing in the garden because for the first time in a couple of years it isn’t just weeds.

Chuck Williams: 706-571-8510, chwilliams@ledger-enquirer.com, @chuckwilliams

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Back in the business of growing vegetables again."