I have a black thumb.
And yet, I insist on having a garden again this year.
Because my husband does not have a black thumb.
Praise the Lord!
And who can resist home-grown nutritious goodness?
So last year, we had a small garden, and it did "okay." This year, I want it to do WAY BETTER than okay. Last year, we planted our garden right into the ground, but didn't rectify the soil. We purchased our plants, and before we had a chance to purchase good soil, sand, manure, etc... my sweet father-in-law planted our veggies in the clay. I'm sure my anxious son had everything to do with it.
This year, my husband -- the wonderful man that he is -- is building me two 8x4 raised garden beds, and I tell you -- I'm GIDDY with anticipation. I can't wait to fill it with good soil, manure, and sand, mix it up, and plant lots of wholesome things. One of them is built and will be filled with a good mixture of dirty stuff for planting this weekend. Hopefully, the next one will be built next week.
Last year, the bunnies ate all my green beans and my cantaloupe. That was a heart breaking thing. My peppers did not fare well AT ALL. They seemed to rot before they ever ripened. My tomatoes did all right, but not spectacular. And in retrospect, I'm thinking of keeping my garden sweet and simple. Tomatoes, lettuce, greens, cukes, Peruvian yellow hot peppers, and maybe a couple other things. I guess my plan is to focus on a hand full of things and do them well. And in the fall (late summer), I'll plant more lettuce, more greens, and garlic. Doesn't that sound delicious? Home grown garlic? Why, yes... yes it does.
It might be too late to plant strawberries... but I would LOVE to have some. We'll see how that goes.
So...
What's in YOUR garden? How are your plans faring?
Friday, March 27, 2009
In Which I Admitt...
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3 comments:
Your raised beds sound like a great way to go. My daughter and I planted 4 strawberry plants in our flower bed last summer (later than this) and we got a few strawberries, but oh my, now we have a flower bed full of strawberry plants. I cannot wait to eat those berries. We have so many squirrels and other critters in the backyard by the creek that the only way we can grow anything is in the front yard. Good luck with your garden! Use lots of Miracle Grow and you'll see miracle-sized produce!!!!!
I too have a black thumb but decided I was tired of paying the high prices for fresh produce and just have to try growing my own this year. I came across square foot gardening [similar to raised beds] and plan to use this method. Go to http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
to find out more about this method. You can also secure the book at your library.
Good luck on your adventure!
I'm a lousy gardener. Love the end results but hate the bugs, bees and weeding. When we were first married we had lofty ideas of gardening and planted a garden that was probably 10 times bigger than it needed to be. To say it overwhelmed us is an understatement. A smaller container garden would be the way to go for me! I might do some patio tomatoes this year.
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