Katherine Nicolai

We, each of us, had a few hand-me-down garden tools, and just a little bit of experience. But we also had a deep yen for becoming successful gardeners.

We, each of us, had a few hand-me-down garden tools, and just a little bit of experience. But we also had a deep yen for becoming successful gardeners.

We, each of us, had a few hand-me-down garden tools, and just a little bit of experience. But we also had a deep yen for becoming successful gardeners.

And I'd have a long talk with my green-thumbed grandfather and borrow his almanac and seed catalogs.

And I'd have a long talk with my green-thumbed grandfather and borrow his almanac and seed catalogs.

And I'd have a long talk with my green-thumbed grandfather and borrow his almanac and seed catalogs.

Soon we had a stack of books, with torn-out magazine articles folded into the pages, charts of what was going where and when, and a dusty basket of the tools we'd need to make it happen.

Soon we had a stack of books, with torn-out magazine articles folded into the pages, charts of what was going where and when, and a dusty basket of the tools we'd need to make it happen.

Soon we had a stack of books, with torn-out magazine articles folded into the pages, charts of what was going where and when, and a dusty basket of the tools we'd need to make it happen.

The day was bright and warming, and stepping out of the car I could smell the clean scent of freshly tilled earth. We found our plot, sketched out in the soil with stakes and string, shook hands with the neighbors, tucked our hair into bandanas, and got to work. The soil was tilled and soft, but still needed to be evened out, and we broke up clumps of dirt with hands and hoes.

The day was bright and warming, and stepping out of the car I could smell the clean scent of freshly tilled earth. We found our plot, sketched out in the soil with stakes and string, shook hands with the neighbors, tucked our hair into bandanas, and got to work. The soil was tilled and soft, but still needed to be evened out, and we broke up clumps of dirt with hands and hoes.

The day was bright and warming, and stepping out of the car I could smell the clean scent of freshly tilled earth. We found our plot, sketched out in the soil with stakes and string, shook hands with the neighbors, tucked our hair into bandanas, and got to work. The soil was tilled and soft, but still needed to be evened out, and we broke up clumps of dirt with hands and hoes.

We consulted our charts and walked off the sections.

We consulted our charts and walked off the sections.

We consulted our charts and walked off the sections.

Here, rows of lettuce. Here, tomato plants. In the back row, we'd have a line of sweet corn, a section of zucchini, a few broccoli plants, cabbage, cucumbers, and a small section of potatoes.

Here, rows of lettuce. Here, tomato plants. In the back row, we'd have a line of sweet corn, a section of zucchini, a few broccoli plants, cabbage, cucumbers, and a small section of potatoes.

Here, rows of lettuce. Here, tomato plants. In the back row, we'd have a line of sweet corn, a section of zucchini, a few broccoli plants, cabbage, cucumbers, and a small section of potatoes.

But we'd done our reading and had a container of cut seed potatoes ready to go in. Growing anything, I supposed, was a gamble, an act of faith that rain would come, that sun would shine, that the natural processes buried in the cells of our seeds and seedlings would activate and pollinate. It seemed worth the gamble, meriting the faith to try

But we'd done our reading and had a container of cut seed potatoes ready to go in. Growing anything, I supposed, was a gamble, an act of faith that rain would come, that sun would shine, that the natural processes buried in the cells of our seeds and seedlings would activate and pollinate. It seemed worth the gamble, meriting the faith to try