Welcome to my favorite issue of Jmore — the annual Garden issue. Spring is almost upon us and we celebrate the hope marked by the new garden. As Audrey Hepburn said, “To grow a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”
I love to garden. Every year in January, I start to plan the spring vegetable garden. The seed companies know I’m a sucker and send me dozens of multi-colored catalogues. I read every one. There must be at least 1,000 tomato varieties alone. I pick tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, okra, broccoli, etc.
The next step is to lay out the garden on graph paper. Well now I do the equivalent using Visio on my computer. I have records going back 15 years so I can rotate crops to reduce weed and bug burdens. My diaries tell me when the last frost occurred, what plants refused to grow, and what the groundhogs found tastiest.
Despite my best efforts, my gardening comes down to a never-ending war between me and the various blights — animals, insects, and weather. I plot for hours only to find out that raccoons and deer are much smarter than I am. My garden always becomes a salad bar where I get some and the animals get their share. Being a megalomaniac, I just keep increasing the size of the garden.
My megalomania gets me into lots of trouble. One tomato plant would supply enough tomatoes for our dinner table all summer. For some reason that I don’t understand, I insist on planting at least 30 plants. I really do need intensive psychotherapy. By July 15, I am harvesting 50-plus tomatoes a day. By August 1, my neighbors make believe they aren’t home when I ring their doorbell to give them away. By August 15, my lovely wife gives me an ultimatum to get rid of the hundreds of tomatoes now occupying our kitchen. Thank god for the food banks being willing to accept them.
A few years ago, I tried to calculate the cost of growing my vegetables. Seeds, fertilizer, various trellises, fencing, and compost all add up. And then I really blew the cost curve and built a greenhouse. My latest attempt at figuring out the costs comes down to $65 for each ear of corn and each tomato. They do taste better than store-bought non-organic versions, but $65 worth?
I obviously don’t grow vegetables to save money. So why do I spend so many hours fighting the forces of nature? I know exactly why I do it. I started growing the garden when I was working in an ICU. I would watch people die from unavoidable reasons. I was also dealing with personal health issues. Getting my hands dirty in wonderfully rich soil made me happy. It fought off my depression. It gave me hope. Watching the seed turn into a plant and bear produce reminded me that I am part of a bigger plan. It reminded me that life will triumph.
I mentioned earlier that I probably need therapy. I wasn’t telling the truth. I’m actually in therapy every time I plant a seed, water the plants, or pick the harvest. Each time I bite into sweet corn picked moments earlier, I feel happiness deep inside. I am able to throw off the dark shadow of death and see the creation of life. Audrey Hepburn was so right — when I plant my garden, I am expressing my confidence in tomorrow. My tomatoes may be costly, but the therapy is free.
Enjoy this issue. Plant a garden. Be safe and be happy. The spring is here, and our national darkness is lifting.
Scott Rifkin, MD, Publisher
A junior at Roland Park Country School, Katie Grossman writes about a recent experience that spurred her to take action to fight antisemitism.
At a time when many Jews fear appearing Jewish in public, seeing Judaism depicted correctly onscreen is reassuring, writes Jewish content creator Rabbi Yael Buechler.
Cruel, inappropriate, egomanical, outrageous and bullying are all attributes that pass for presidential these days, writes Michael Olesker.
