"Plants vs. Seeds, that is the question..."

"Gardening is the slowest of the performing arts." - Mac Griswald  

I am not a patient person; that is why I prefer to buy plants rather than fuss with seeds  when gardening time comes. Mr. Clark is a patient person who would rather fuss with seeds than "waste money buying plants," as he puts it. That is why he orders seeds every spring, which he then expects me to plant. And, that is why I buy plants every spring and neglect his seeds.  

We've been going 'round and 'round about this for years, but the discussion became more intense several years ago, when  Mr. Clark grew his first garden using only seeds. He was out of work at the time and wanted to make some hot sauce and salsa as "something to do while he looked for work." Since there was no money for plants, seeds were the only option and since I was working at the time and he wasn't, Mr. Clark knew he'd have to fuss with those seeds all by himself.  

My hope was that, if he could get his seed garden to grow, he would sell some of his sauce at a Farmer's Market somewhere, but he said, no, that would be a waste of his time, since he was so busy looking for work...

(Do we sound like an old married couple? We are. This year we'll celebrate 33 years of this type of wedded bliss...)  

Mr. Clark's garden not only grew, it thrived. He learned to make a bunch of different hot sauces and salsas. He named his product line "Ed Bob's Hard Times Hot Sauce, for good times and for bad." He even designed a label featuring a line of happy looking little men, followed by a line of sad looking little men. They were clip art from a Depression-era anti-syphilis campaign poster and seemed to communicate the message "for good times and for bad" perfectly.

The "Ed Bob's" turned out to be very good and he made so much of it, we gave it as Christmas gifts that year. By the next spring, Mr. Clark was working again, at a good job that kept him on the road quite a bit. People were clamoring for more "Ed Bob's, and because Mr. Clark was gone so much, I won the plant vs. seed discussion easily. We bought a bunch of pepper and tomato plants and, once again, the garden thrived. Mr. Clark spent almost every weekend that summer making "Ed Bob's."     

    

By this time, the word was out. "Ed Bob's" was a big hit because you can put it on almost anything and it makes almost anything taste better. People we don't even know started hunting us down, "friends of friends" on Facebook and such, wanting to know if they could get a bottle. Apparently, they tried it at our (real) friend's house and had to have some of their own. Mr. Clark ramped up production and started allowing real friends to place orders for "friends of friends." And, because there was so much of it, everyone we know got "Ed Bob's" for Christmas again.

This year we started the seeds vs. plants discussion early because I had cut back on my work hours and Mr. Clark was traveling more than ever. It was clear he was going to push the seed thing hard and since I was "going to have so much more time on my hands," what could I say? I did insist on ordering fancy seeds and seed starting supplies, and by mid-February, I had trays of seedlings sitting in every sunny spot in the house. By mid-March, they were all in bigger pots and the "hardening" process had begun. ("Hardening," involves spending hours toting trays of seedlings from here to there, making sure they get the right combination of sun, shade, cool, warm, etc.)  

In the spirit of keeping marital bliss alive, I tried not to complain too long or loudly, but I believe next year I'll be able to buy more plants and start less seeds, just so Mr. Clark won't have to hear my voice so much when it's gardening time.

Last weekend we planted a bunch of the seedlings in the garden and it almost broke my heart. They look so small and defenseless out there...It turns out I became attached to those little plants as I fussed with them and toted them about.

A disadvantage of a successful seed spree is that you end up covered up in tiny plants. Thanks to an aggressive plant give away program I instituted a few weeks ago, many of my tiny friends have already been "re-homed" (as the animal rescue people say) and quite a few more are going to their "forever homes" (another animal rescue term) this week. With any luck at all, my fussing with seeds will be soon be over, at least for this year.

As for the "Ed Bob's," Mr. Clark doubled the garden size this spring, "to be sure there's plenty of room for more tomato and pepper plants." Production should be in full swing by the end of June. Friends and "friends of friends" are already placing orders and our families actually seen happy knowing what Christmas will bring.  

Many have suggested that Mr. Clark start selling "Ed Bob's," to which he replies, "Are kidding me? You gotta' know somebody to get this stuff."

Like I said, sheer wedded bliss...