When the cold winter breezes began to break and ice-covered sidewalks gave way to sunshine and flower blossoms last April, my mother and I decided it would be an ideal time to start a garden. Encouraged by rising food costs and the talk of trendy recession gardens reminiscent of the World War II Victory Gardens, we headed to our local nursery for soil, fertilizers and of course, seeds. The next week we labored in the backyard for hours, transforming what was once a plot of grass next to our neighbor’s fence into fertile land fit for corn, tomatoes, basil, Brussels sprouts, peppers, cucumbers and green onions. We weren’t quite sure of the work we were in for – or whether our hand-tilled soil would yield edible crops, but we were proud of ourselves.

Since then, I have moved from the suburbs. My mother has taken the reins on watering and weeding our recession-garden, and I gladly take the excess basil, tomatoes and peppers to transform into pesto, salads, and salsa to incorporate in whatever recipe I can find and easily make. Some of our crops didn’t make it. A cool spell in June and the end of July stunted the growth of our tomatoes, and the Brussels sprouts did not sprout. But the corn towers proudly over the fence and there are enough cherry tomatoes and basil to pass along to neighbors, friends, and frankly, whoever will take them.

News reports indicate that we are over the worst in this economic downturn- but I know next summer, even if food prices return to normal levels, I will be converting my urban yard into a garden; and hopefully the next time around, all of the crops will survive.

-Whitney McIntosh

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