The Perils of Going on Vacation For the Gardener are Numerous

I went on vacation to Port Aransas last week with my family, which brought with it a big problem in the garden - how to keep everything alive in this blazing hot drought.

We left Wednesday evening and planned to get back Monday morning. I was most worried about our potted plants on the porch - three citrus trees, a bunch of ornamentals, a few dozen fall garden seedlings and a pair of upside-down tabasco pepper plants in hanging pots. A friend came by and watered for me on Thursday evening. My boys came back a day early, so I figured (and prayed) everything could survive through Friday and Saturday.

I didn’t get back until Monday evening because the water pump on my 1988 Jeep Wagoneer decided to start coming apart while we were on the island. It was an adventure getting back to La Grange, but with the help of my oldest son, we pulled back through our gate around 6 p.m.

The first thing I noticed was that my upside-down pepper plants were wilted so bad I thought the leaves would fall off in a strong wind. I have a feeling the boys forgot to water them on Sunday. I watered them immediately and then again a couple of hours later. They remained wilted through the rest of the evening. I thought they were lost. To my amazement, the next morning they had perked up and were completely green.

The in-ground garden was another story. I thought it would have fared better since I gave everything a thorough soaking before we left on Wednesday. All of my squash died, along with most of my herb garden with the exception of parsley. My cowpeas are nearly dead, but they might survive. I planted some Italian borlotti beans about two months ago, and they were just starting to send the first pods when I left. They’re nearly dead.

My peppers, eggplants, some tomatoes, and of course, okra, have all survived. The cherry tomatoes are doing the best, followed by my San Marzano tomatoes, which are an heirloom roma-type variety from Italy. My big tomatoes like the striped German and Brandywine may be finished. The verdict is still out on my Early Girl tomatoes, the only hybrid I’m growing this year. They look poor, but I am most impressed with this variety. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Early Girls come back. Back in Port A, Janessa and

Back in Port A, Janessa and I fished almost all day on Sunday along the ship channel bulkhead at the end of Port Street. We watched giant tankers and freighters sail by and wondered about the different countries those ships might have visited. I caught a Florida Pompano for the first time in my life. Janessa caught a huge ladyfish, at least 20 inches long. I wanted to bring the ladyfish back to use as fertilizer in the garden. I’ve been watching YouTube videos about using whole fish for fertilizer in the garden, and I’ve been wanting to give it a try. Supposedly, saltwater fish make better fertilizer than freshwater fish.

Janessa is not fond of long trips with a bucket of dead fish in the back of the Jeep, so that experiment will have to wait - perhaps until I take a coast trip with my hunting and fishing buddy Levi Surman. He doesn’t mind the smell of dead fish.

We used the ladyfish for crab trap bait instead. We didn’t catch any crabs, though. About the time we were leaving from this spot, another couple arrived at the bulkhead.

“It looked like y’all were about to leave, we’re not intruding on y’all’s camp, are we?” asked a man with long gray hair in a cutoff t-shirt.

I told him they weren’t intruding at all, and that we were about to leave. I was gutting the pompano when he remarked on what a fine-tasting fish it was, but that they were somewhat rare to catch inshore.

I offered him the cut up ladyfish from the crab trap, which he greatly appreciated, as though I gave him a $100 bill. He suggested grilling the pompano whole on charcoal. When I got home, I did just that. I seasoned the fish with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and basil and tabasco pepper from the garden. To go with it I prepared rice and a red Thai curry with some headon table shrimp I bought at the coast before I left. Into the curry went some okra, tomatoes, basil, Kaffir lime leaf, and lemongrass, all from the garden.

If you like Thai food as much as I do, I suggest growing some of those things. They all take the heat quite well. Kaffir lime trees are hard to find. I bought mine from a hippy commune outside of Austin a few years ago. They appear in the strangest of places. Lemongrass plants and basil seeds are easy to find and easy to grow.

If you have any questions or comments about gardening, fishing or fixing broken down Jeeps on the side of the road, please send them to andy@fayettecountyrecord.com.