I love vegetable gardening….and trees.

Trouble is, they are incompatible.

Trying to turn over the soil just got me a shovelful of roots. And with all that shade, forget about growing big, juicy vegetables that resemble the ones on the seed packets.

I’ve been lucky to live in several homes with beautiful tree-filled lots. But I’ve always struggled mightily to produce more than puny produce from the cold, rocky ground.

In 2011, Marge and I moved to a unique cedar house surrounded by cedar trees in Burien’s Gregory Heights neighborhood. I decided I was no longer up for the challenge of starting up another garden under adverse conditions.

But then last spring I signed up for a Burien Community Garden plot on a gloriously tree-free, sunny spot next to the Burien Annex.

I was transformed into “Super Ciscoe.”

Devotees of gardening guru Ciscoe Morris will have their chance to emulate their hero when the city of Burien Parks Department opens up the co-op plots for new applicants on Monday morning, March 25. Set your speed dial to 206-988-3700.

Not wanting to wait on snail mail, I drove my re-application and $25 check over to the community center at 14700 6th Ave. S.W. (the old library) the day after I received my notice. The front-counter staff said they had already received a lot of renewals.

Returning gardeners have first priority on one of the 31 garden plots so it’s hard to say how many openings will be left on March 25. One plot went unclaimed last year so you never know.

Burien lawmakers are talking about opening up more community gardens around the city so a big response will demonstrate a strong demand.

Each plot is 75 square feet (6 feet by 12.5 feet) It’s amazing how much the dedicated gardeners manage to squeeze onto the plots.

All gardeners must provide eight hours of service to the garden common areas. But with community work parties and potlucks, the work can be fun. Some just clean up around the area after gardening.

A five-member garden board represents the gardener’s interests and communicates with the city. It’s all very informal. Gardeners can do their own thing as long as they comply with a few rules and use common sense.

Gardeners tend to be nice people. You can pick up gardening advice from the grizzled veterans. That was important to me after gardening alone for so many years.

It’s one plot per household but you can be added to a wait list if additional spots become available. Parks staff promises to let people know about extra plots by April 16. There’s also a mandatory orientation meeting on April 12.

The city supplies compost (black gold!), wood chips and water.

Freed from gardening under the shadows of trees, I grew an astoundingly abundant cool-weather crop of lettuce and carrots that had me beating a steady path to the food bank with the overflow.

I also got a great crop of warm-weather tomatoes,

So, do I recommend that you call Monday and reserve a spot? Heck, no. I have my eye on an extra plot.