My dreams for my garden aren’t grand. Yet, it seems with each consecutive year, time becomes scarcer. With the demands of too many jobs, there’s little time left over for the things I enjoy.  My garden is a prime example.

Paul built me this great little green house. But last fall the cleanup didn’t happen and it’s a jungle in there. I’m not sure how I’ll recover from that.

Ignoring the greenhouse, I planted purchased seedlings – roma and cherry tomatoes, zucchini, green peppers, cucumbers, and basil. I planted these alongside the garlic started last fall in the plot next to the greenhouse. I mulched it with straw and walked away. I watered once and then all but forgot about the garden. I didn’t even stake the tomatoes. I meant to. It just never happened.

Yet despite my crazy schedule and inattention, my garden grew. One day in late July I took a peek to find my cucumbers dead, giant zucchini waiting to be picked and tons of green tomatoes. We’ve been feasting on those tomatoes for the last six weeks.

With lots of weekend work and my trip to Ohio to deposit Hannah to college, today was my first day where I didn’t have to be somewhere or do something since I don’t know when. Coffee, floor scrubbing, and cleaning  the bulk of my garlic harvest were all accomplished before I dared go down to the garden.

It’s a sad state – ripe and overripe tomatoes clinging to vines lying on the mulch. Green peppers that the mice have already feasted on. Zucchini the size of Gidget. I started wading through, passing over the rotten tomatoes, rescuing those I could. All was not lost; it was a fairly good haul overall.

The roma’s have been quartered and are in the dehydrator. Cherry tomatoes were roasted and served with pasta and Creekside Farm organic sausage for dinner. Two monster zucchinis sit on the counter staring at me as I ponder how to make use of them.

There may be something to this passive gardening concept!