Garden,  Local

The Walk of Shame

This morning I went to the farmer’s market to buy the things that I tried to grow. Yes, this is probably a gardener’s greatest walk of shame. However, for $20 I came out with 6 lbs of peaches, 7 ears of silver queen, a pint of blueberries, three squash, two zucchini, and four sweet potatoes. Twenty dollars would not have covered my water bill to grow all of that successfully.

Backing up a bit, I first went to school to drop off my time sheet. I had planned on carrying Wookie and letting Scooby walk, but when I went to unload the boys, neither had shoes. Whoops. So I carried both boys across the parking lot and let Scooby walk barefoot once inside. This was just more evidence that whatever was left of my brain after having Scooby is now fully gone. Fortunately, I had packed a borrowed Moby Wrap, so I was able to push Scooby in the stroller once we got the market.

I’m still deciding if I like the Moby. The benefits are that it is soft, holds the baby close, isn’t too hot, and is a very simple design – just one very long piece of stretchy fabric. Wookie seems to have no complaints (see the post-shopper’s satisfied look), but I found putting the wrap on in the parking lot to be a chore because the material is so long that it drags on the ground (I tried to let the excess drape into the car). I I think I’m not wearing it right yet, because Wookie started up at my chest and ended up at my bellybutton by the time I was done shopping… and that was with adjusting it once or twice. I saw a really cute carrier at church on Sunday that I would purchase had I the cash, but I might attempt to sew one if I get really brave.

But back to gardening. It seems some people I know grew amazing crops this summer, and some grew not so amazing crops. The former all have very sunny growing conditions, the latter have a decent bit of shade. Next summer the tomatoes will be moved to this year’s corn plot, which is the sunniest spot in the yard. Though I may have taken the walk of shame and likely will many times again, I’m not giving up on urban gardening just yet, but a relocation to the countryside might boost my confidence.

3 Comments

  • Krista

    I can think of few things less shameful that attempting to grow an ambitious garden mostly from seed while pregnant/in labor/with a newborn and tot. My garden was also mediocre this year, but I'm trying to chalk it up to being a valuable experience and better luck next year! Keep up the good work! 🙂

  • The Conservationist

    There's nothing shameful about doing the best you can with what you're given, and you've definitely done that. As the Keith Green sang, "He'll take care of the rest." I'm impressed with how much you bought with $20! And I LOVE the carrier. I am so going to make one…what a simple design!!

  • Paige Puckett

    Thanks, ladies. Mom is coming in two weeks and we are going to make a carrier as well. I still have that pretty fabric I showed you and may use it as the back. Who knows, maybe we'll get crazy and make two: infant size and chunker size.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *