By mid-June, most gardeners on Delmarva have everything planted that they are going to grow for the year, at least the first crop. So it was for me, as I departed for a week's vacation, high on the success of the strawberry season. My tender tomato transplants were in and established, as well as the peppers. The potatoes were already knee-high. The carrots and chard had emerged in neat, narrow rows. I had already begun harvesting thick green onions from my spring sets. The summer crisp lettuce was seeded, the mesclun crop was ready for harvest, and we were still enjoying the last of the green and red leaf 
lettuce.
I didn't worry about my garden during our week at the beach. The newspaper and grass clippings mulch had held down the usual early summer crop of pernicious weeds in my paths, and with less area to weed, I had kept the rows relatively weed-free. We arrived home mid-afternoon, and the garden was my first stop. The growth was amazing: onions the size of tennis balls, cucumbers winding up the trellis, baby green tomatoes hanging from the vines, a carpet of succulent weeds half the size of the tomato plants.
I don't know why I was so surprised. Delmarva's hot, sticky weather is heaven for weeds. Eleven years ago this July when my son was born, I returned home from a four-day stay in the hospital after a C-section, excited to be a mother but distressed to see that the weeds had out-grown my garden plants. My mother came to stay and help, and she and my husband pulled a mountain of weeds and revealed the tomatoes and peppers hidden below. That was a rare gift--one I have never received since. Since coming home, our relaxing summer has consisted of
driving from one fun event to another, so the weeds have grown even more. Today, I am planning to remove as many as I can. Besides, they're easier to pull once they're big. I'm not kidding!
© 2008 Jenifer Dolde
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