It’s mid-summer and my garden is busy growing – but nothing like I planned. Reading New Vegetable Garden, (a prior post) might give more insight into my madness.
Auspicious beginnings
By mid-April, I had planted all of my babies and was anxiously awaiting the bounty harvest.
As planned, I purchased six strawberry plants with the expectation that they wouldn’t really yield much the first year. To my delight, the grandkids were able to pick a small handful whenever they came by. Sparse and tiny, but delicious.
Additionally, Marie and I have enjoyed adding fresh-from-the-garden arugula to our salads nearly every evening for the past two months.
That’s it.
The rest of my babies:
Mixed lettuce – Never sprouted.
Carrots – Slow to come up but may yet produce something.
Garlic – I planted eight cloves from our kitchen. These two miniatures are all that came of it. That stinks. Guess I’d better do some research.
Sweet onions – Never even saw a leaf.
Scallions – Also never sprouted.
Beefsteak tomatoes – Six plants – one survived with a couple blossoms.
Cherry tomatoes – Four plants – all died.
I was particularly disappointed with the tomatoes – the one crop I thought would be foolproof. The only challenges I expected were making tons of tomato sauce and finding room in the freezer. Silly me.
Pole beans – Of the eight plants, one survived and has blossoms but still no fruit.
Cantaloupe – Both plants died.
Bell peppers – Planted eight – all died.
First year – second wave
By June, I had too much investment to give up. So off to the nursery I headed seeking plants that had been professionally launched.
Cherry tomatoes – The four new plants are overrunning the place. Every day I harvest more than we can eat – and these delicious little gems are as sweet as strawberries.
Beefsteak tomatoes – I planted six that are promising. There are lots of blossoms and at least a dozen beauties that are getting fat. No signs of red yet, but I’m quite hopeful.
Onions – Walmart had bunches of “Georgia sweet onions.” I thought surely these must be the very same as the Vidalia onions I tasted on a road trip through Georgia and was excited at the possibility of growing them in my own garden.
One Saturday, the grands were over and we planted two rows where the failed onion crops had been.
When the stems turned brown and fell over, I harvested them – tiny but delicious. Now if only I can get them grow to a reasonable size.
Melon – By the time I wanted to replace the dead cantaloupe the only melon I could buy was watermelon. OMG the thing grew like Audrey II from “Little Ship of Horrors.” Every day the vines spread a foot in every direction … as if to say to the neighboring plant, “I’m gonna eat you up!”
Needless to say, I wasn’t about to give Audrey her way and I pruned mercilessly. Thus far I have two promising melons, but I fear the aggressive pruning may have limited additional fruit.
Bell peppers – As I watched my babies die, I added four plants: green, yellow, orange, and red. A yellow one blossomed immediately. Every day I watched it grow and ripen. On the day it would be perfect, I went to harvest it. I was sick – it was completely rotten. Cutting it open, I found a worm had beat me to it. Clearly a capital offense. I meted out appropriate punishment.
The red plant has given us one nice looking pepper, but the meat was thin. The plant still looks good, and has several blossoms. The other plants aren’t doing much of anything.
Bonus: sweet potato – While Marie and I were on vacation in January, a sweet potato in the pantry tried to grow. Not just little eyes, but foot-long tendrils hanging down from the shelf. Rather than throwing it into the disposal, I planted it. Like the watermelon, it’s trying to take over the garden. Unlike the watermelon, it’s all underground. I’m afraid to dig it up before it’s ready – and I have no idea when it will be ready. Hmmm.
I’m not giving up
In anticipation of next year’s planting, I’ve begun composting. Yes, in spite of a very frustrating season with limited harvests, I’m going to try again next year. I concluded that as a freshman I shouldn’t expect to make varsity my first year. I’ve learned a lot and plan to start planting this fall. As Cub fans used to say at the end of every season, “Wait until next year.”
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P.S. Dear Readers: Almost all of my learning has come from internet “experts.” If any among you see opportunities that might make next year better, please do share them with me. I welcome all the help I can get. Use either comments below or email to grandpalylesnotebook@gmail.com.