Thursday, July 19, 2012

Midsummer Garden

My husband has been watering our little garden with seltzer bottles with pinholes punched in the bottom.  They act as soaker hose, only they are much easier to place and no hose snaking across anywhere. 

We learned, now, that tomatoes like a deep drink every few days, not constant little drips.  So we water the tomatoes differently - and now we're getting rain, so that's a blessing. 

The bean plants are mulched with sawdust, a by-product of his wordworking in the basement.  He glanced at a website that said this is a good mulch for plants, like beans, that add nitrogen to the soil.


I dismantled the nasturtiums on the porch because they were puny and I was tired of hoping.    Our raspberries have given us about 5 berries so far.  The parsley that overwintered has not reseeded itself into anything useful.  We also pulled out 2 tomato plants that were wilty and yellowing.  And the ding-dang squirrels have taken every tomato that has approached ripeness so far; this is a city problem, but country gardens have deer, right?  Well, we are fighting back; I bought a repellent and a trap.  We'll see if we get any tomatoes.


I sound a bit irritated about our garden, I know. I have to remind myself that gardening is like cooking - I have to start at the beginning and learn from my mistakes.  Still and all, cooking holds far more joy and interest for me than the garden! 

10 comments:

simplicityinthemaking said...

I have had racoons. They tore out all my squash, rows of peas and now are attacking the potatoes. In the meanwhile the dog sleeps soundly all night on the porch! Loose!!

Hazel said...

Most gardeners have had an awful season in the UK- poor germination and growth, not enough warmth, too much rain (my peas put up with sitting in standing water for a while but then keeled over) and hordes and hordes of slugs and snails. Everything looks pitiful. Yeah, I'm irritated with my garden too!

I keep reminding myself that at least with gardening there is always next year.

Unknown said...

I'm sure you'll find gardening comes easier each year as you discover what works for you!

I ripped out all my strawberry plants this year - the chipmunks stole every one of them and after two years I figured if I wasn't getting any, nothing was!

We had to 'take care' of some ground hogs the first year we had the garden - they eat just like a lawn mower!

There are also worms to be hand picked (I don't like to spray if I can help it) and then thrown to the chickens for their breakfast!

We haven't had any trouble with deer yet (thank you, God!) probably because the garden is right in our dooryard and we have motion sensor porch lights too.

Melanie said...

This is only my second real year of gardening, but my tomatoes are acting the same way, and the cucumbers have only been so-so. The peas were amazing - maybe this is just not the right weather for tomatoes!

I got fed up with the rabbits in our yard, and so we built a fence around one of the raised beds. At least the edamame in that bed is looking good. The peppers are a complete fail; hopefully the carrots will be ok.

We also only got a handful of blueberries from our bushes (to be accurate, the birds got them) - next year, netting.

But I am bolstered by the zuchetta and the melons and the basil! Hope you have something yummy to eat soon that soothes the frustration! It's about the journey, but in the midst of that, it can be easy to forget.

Deanna Beth said...

This has been a fun gardening year for no one. Say, I think your plastic bottle invention is brilliant!

Sew Blessed Maw [Judy] said...

Smart idea with the bottles..
Don't be discouraged with your gardening.. I think it is a bad garden year for everyone.. I lie in Ms and it has been such a dry/hot year ,that everything looks bad.. And what has come up.. the squirrels/deer and everything is enjoying.eeeeeh..
I too had rather cook.lol

Tracy said...

While I LOVE having a garden, and the fresh produce that come with it, I am NOT a gardener. I leave that job to my husband. He's not a reader/researcher, so whatever we get, we get. This year has been especially bad as first we had a drought and 100+ days for weeks, and now all we have is rain.

Margo said...

You all are so encouraging! I love hearing these gardening stories.

Jen Betancourt said...

I do love gardening, and it does seem to get better every year, but goodness is there any end to the pests? We've got the biggest tomato horn worms I've ever seen this year. A nice treat though for our neighbor's chickens : ) I do think it's valuable for my daughter to see how grownups struggle with things too, and that we're all still learning.

Polly said...

I think you are doing fine!!

I grew up gardening and frankly I can take it or leave it. Every year I swear it off and every year we plant a doggone garden. Every year I say "this year I don't have time" but we do it anyhow, and my husband, who definitely doesn't have time, somehow tries to get out there and do some weeding. And every year we say "NEXT YEAR our garden will be better!!!" Hope springs eternal!

I'm the most useless of people. I cook but I don't love it (I cook b/c I have people to feed!), I grow vegetables but it's not my favorite thing: my thing is flower gardening. But you can't eat those (usually). It's not very practical. I just love it.