My husband, Mr. Fixit

Cliff and I have been sitting here on the couch arguing.  Yes, arguing.  I was happily telling him all about my garden, explaining why I water some things with a plastic watering can, some with a soaker hose, some with a wand on the hose, and some with the new one the grandson gave me for Mother's Day.  

I wasn't complaining, but simply telling why I used various tactics for different things.  And he says, "Why don't you just move the waterer Arick gave you where you need it?"

I don't want to move it around.  I don't even enjoy moving soaker hoses, which is why I like my new waterer; I don't have to move the soaker hose to so many places.  Right now, where that thing is sitting, it is where it will do the most good.  I know the tomatoes are getting plenty of water, and tomatoes are the most important thing in my garden.

He didn't like my answer, and kept saying, "But you can move it where it needs to be any time.  It isn't hard."

Here's just one example of why it isn't so simple.  I have Daylilies, Irises, and Gladiolus along the south-facing fence in my garden, which means they are standing in a straight line.  If I set up the waterer Cliff wants me to move, it would be watering the yard more than anything else, and wasting water.  

We have a never ending source of water to our well, unless the Missouri River runs dry someday.  With global warming like it is, that might happen, but not in my lifetime.  So I don't worry about wasting water, but I do not want to wear out a pump that would have to be replaced.  Soaker hoses waste no water, and put all the water that comes through them exactly where it needs to be...  on the roots of the plants.  You don't have to have the water running at full force, either.  

Cliff tends to think I need some help or solution when I'm really just relating what's happening.  My daughter and I have talked about this in the past, and she says her husband is the same way.  "Men just want to fix whatever is bothering us," she said.  "And there are some things nobody can do anything to change."

This is where my husband would say, "Yeah, like my hard-headed wife."

Well of course I know he means well, but he was talking as if I wanted him to do something, and I didn't.  I love every step I take in the garden, and I like doing things my way.  I told him that he should do a garden of his own so he could do it however he wants.  Oops, shouldn't have said that.

After our little conflict was over, I told him I was ready for him to mow the strawberry patch whenever he felt like it.  "Oh no you don't," he said.  "I'm not touching your garden."

But he said it with a smile, then mowed the strawberry patch.

Truthfully, he and I have had more arguments over my gardening than any other topic I can think of, and it's always because he thinks he could do it better.  If we ever divorce (after fifty-seven years), you can bet that garden had something to do with it.

Walk through my garden

Cliff took this first picture with his phone as he drove by on the side-by-side.  I had told everybody I was done picking strawberries because my knees were so sore, and the berries were tiny at that point.  I had a gardening friend come out and pick them twice for her family, but that was before they got so tiny, not to mention few and far between.  However, I walked past that patch Saturday and decided I'd just pick a few to put on our cereal.  As it happened, I also got enough to have strawberry shortcake one more time.

My daughter gave me that seat for Mother's Day that I was sitting on; I use it a lot, and carry it with me when I move.

These potato vines are the tallest I think I've ever seen.

My only row of potatoes on the left and green beans on the right.

I planted two half-rows of Bodacious sweet corn some time back.

Then three days ago, I planted corn on the near half of the rows.  Can you see the little spikes of corn?

 

Here are all my tomato plants.  So far they are looking great.  Some of those, obviously, are younger and won't be producing until later.

This large plant is loaded!  I can't wait.

We had our first Harvard beets from this row today.

I also cooked some of these Alaska peas today.  They won't last long in this heat, I'm afraid.

Okra, with Little Marvel peas on the right.

Bell peppers.  They were planted later than usual.

I always have one eggplant in my garden, and that's more than enough for us.  My favorite use of eggplants is in Ratatouille.  

Onions.  There are more in a different row.

Three cabbages of different sizes.   I plant a seed or two every once in awhile, to keep the cabbage coming.

There are odds and ends of other plants scattered around in corners.  Cliff is just now starting to feel decent after getting his second cochlear implant, so I'll be having him mow the strawberries before long.  He had more pain with this second implant.

Obviously, I'm watering everything in various ways.  My grandson bought me a waterer for Mother's Day that slowly spins and sprays, and covers a large part of the garden.  I try to let it work for four hours every Thursday  night or Friday morning early, times when there won't be so much of our well water evaporating in the heat.  There are two soaker hoses coming tomorrow, too.  

I swore I wasn't going to water the garden this year, but here I am, watering parts of it in one way or another every day.