Thar sh'grows!

Tom Petty sang it right, the waiting is the hardest part. When it comes to a first-year garden, you plant, you weed, you water, and...you wait.

Sometimes seeds sprout, sometimes they fail. Sometimes the heat abuses your young plants, sometimes they survive. Sometimes Mother Nature uproots the whole works, sometimes she brings a bit of rain. After awhile, you really start hating the word "sometimes".

And then it happens. A tiny little knob of green appears on a tomato vine, or a lettuce head begins to form. Your bean plant's tendrils find their place, and apricots fatten on the branch. All that hard work, worrying, and yes, waiting, begins to pay off and you see the telltale signs of the harvest to come.

It's all happening. We have four beautiful, gleaming lettuces, with two more on the way. The tomato jungle, as it's become lovingly known, has little balls of tangy green goodness dangling on nearly every plant. The Three Sisters are getting friendly, and the leeks are nearly ready for transplant. It's starting to look like a real vegetable garden!

Such an exciting, and perilous time!

We keep waiting for disaster to strike. Pessimism probably isn't the best route, but with last autumn's bolting-fest, we've grown a bit cautious. What keeps me positive is the dream of one warm, crispy plate of fried green tomatoes on my birthday. Oh yes, that will make it all worthwhile.