Gardening for Real

I've already had a few turns around the garden this year, but the season officially opened today, for today I broke out the red straw gardening hat. 

The cabbages, broccoli, and brussels sprouts that I planted last month have just been sitting there, doing nothing.  I've been intending to fertilize them for days, but never had my supplies and tools handy.  Today, when I got home from work, I rode my bike to Pop-Pop's, both to air up the bike tires and to look in the shed for the fertilizer.  Going down the driveway, I noticed freshly-tilled soil in the big garden; Mr. Charles had been there today with his tractor, and it's ready for planting.  "Looks like I need to buy some tomatoes tomorrow," I said to Pop-Pop as I rode up to the shed, where he was working on a lawnmower. 

Nanny was there, too, handing him some tools.  "The almanac says to plant above-ground crops on - shoot, what day was that?"  She grabbed the almanac and handed it to me.  I didn't have my glasses and couldn't see the tiny print without laying the book on the floor and standing on a chair to read it.  Pop-Pop handed me his glasses, but they made me dizzy.  Nanny handed me hers; they worked fairly well when I held the book 3 inches from my nose.  "It says the 15th through the 17th," I told them.  "I'll get the plants and some seeds tomorrow, and we'll poke them in the ground the day after."

I aired up the bike tires, found the fertilizer, and pedaled back up the driveway to my house to find a bucket and some water.  I mixed up the fertilizer in the bucket and hauled it to the garden.  The ground around the plants was pretty hard, so I came back to the house for a hoe, my gloves, and my hat.  Now, it's gardening time.