pumpkin seeds

Throughout my childhood, and for decades before, my family always planted a vegetable garden. And as I recall, it always thrived. Seemingly effortlessly. It produced enough vegetables to easily meet our needs. There was even enough to sell to local grocery stores.

Perhaps because of this successful gardening heritage, I was convinced that if I ever tried my hand at vegetable gardening, I'd be a natural. It had always appeared so simple. So basic. How could it fail?

It has only been in recent years that I have attempted to grow my own vegetables. Years of apartment living and summer schedules not conducive to weeding, watering and maintaining a garden made it impractical. Not to mention my general laziness and the proximity of great vegetable markets.

When I finally decided to add seeds to soil, I was faced with two obstacles: the pile of rock that I call home and a pathetically small yard. Both of which led me quite logically to containers. It made sense. I wanted to start small and I had been assured that most vegetables could be grown successfully in containers. So simple. So basic. How could it fail?

While I have no real evidence, I blame roaming bands of neighbourhood cats. The wooden containers arranged on my deck could have been easily confused for litter boxes. An honest mistake. If the little nocturnal creatures were at fault, they were certainly selective. Because all was not lost. My lettuce, dill and chives continued to grow beautifully. As for my beans, carrots, cucumbers and basil . . . it was tragic.

Since that fateful summer, I have held tight to what works. Thus, I've enjoyed weeks of fresh salads and herbs. And stopped at the nearby vegetable markets for everything else.

But now, as my thoughts turn once again to my garden, I feel ready to experiment once more. Not with containers of assorted vegetables this time. Those memories are still too raw. Instead . . . pumpkins. Until now, I've never considered planting pumpkins. Mostly due to the aforementioned lack of space. But then I happened upon an article about growing pumpkins vertically. Using a trellis or a tomato cage. Sounds great in theory. But what happens, I wondered, when the pumpkins become large and heavy? Still, the author appeared to have complete confidence in his method. Who am I to doubt him?

So, armed with a package of pumpkin seeds, I laid out my planting strategy. Sure, I'll try the vertical approach. But just in case, I'll also plant one row horizontally in front of my shrubs. One row shouldn't require too much room. Right? To avoid potential heartbreak, I'll vary the location. Some in front of the house. Some in back. And because I'm anxious to get started and dare not plant seeds outside yet, I've planted a few seeds in pots on a sunny windowsill.

And so it begins. I'm hoping for a sincere pumpkin patch.