surely there's rehab for this?

Hello, my name is Erin, and I am an addict.

If subclinical obsessive compulsiveness runs in families, in mine it's running a marathon. Fascinating people, to be certain, (even if I do say so) but obsessive to the last man.

And so I present the latest evidence of my own disorder-the remade crazy huge garden plan in the face of last year's abject failure. Do I remember the 4,000 square feet of weeds and dying tomato plants that failed to produce one watermelon, strawberry, or cantaloupe? No! Do I remember the few measly ears of corn and lonely jars of tomato sauce all that space and work took to make? Yes I do.

So this year we've moved the whole thing into less than 1/4 of last year's garden space, built boxes for raised beds, and are slowly and methodically filling them with (bought in) soil. And the picture above (do click on it to see a larger picture, please) is the result of days' worth of neglect of all other facets of my life to bring forth the Ultimate Garden Plan 2008. The garden that will not fail. The Answer to all Gardening Questions.

The 6 boxes are 4'x16', with 3' paths between boxes. The drawing is in no way to scale, but you can still get an idea of the vast amounts of, say, radishes that we plan to grow out there.

As soon as I have the boxes filled and the planting done, I'll post pictures of that.

The problem, see, is Spring. The second the world starts to thaw out, and tiny green leaves break forth from their tight winter buds, something crazy starts to happen in my mind. I've got to get out there. I've got to plant something. Summer always teaches me a lesson, with its withering heat and phenomenal weed growth, and I'm left wondering who on earth planted this huge garden and expected me to take care of it.

So check back in the fall. I'm usually less obsessive then.