Our
garden is now two months old and so far I haven’t killed anything. J Some things are off to a slow start while
other things seem to be doing really well.
I’m learning a lot, like I need to fertilize more often and plant things
a little differently, which I will definitely do next year. But for my first real attempt at gardening I
am rather pleased.
I got
onto Amazon.com and ordered a book to help me out. I have always been interested in Square Foot
gardening. I like that it allows one to
plant a lot of stuff in a small amount of space and that it is a very organized technique. That is actually what drew me to it in the
first place. It really appeals to my
anal retentive side. I had borrowed a
copy of the “All New” edition from the library but found a brand new copy of
the original online for $2 so I went with that one instead.
In the
past month we have added on a nice sized strawberry bed and got it planted,
planted raspberry starts, harvested some lettuce, added some compost and mulch,
re-planted the pickling cucumbers in a pot (they are doing much better) and
made tomato cages out of leftover fence wire.
Our pear tree is loaded and doing tremendously, despite a few heavy wind
storms.
Strawberries!
In the
extreme heat I am watering daily, early in the morning. Some of our tomato plants have tomatoes on
them and the corn is just beginning to tassel.
So far no squash but the plants are getting really big.
Probably
my greatest worry is the lack of pollinators.
I have found a lot of dead bees around and not too many butterflies are
visiting us this year. I’m afraid
someone has used too much pesticide in our neighborhood. We are self pollinating our garden to help it
along. We’ll see how well this works for
us. My girls learned how to do this at
school and they are showing me this time.
My
girls are super excited about how well the things they have planted are doing.
They are excellent helpers and do a great job taking care of their assigned
sections. Now if we can just keep ahead
of this heat.
How is
your garden growing?
I'm interested in square foot gardening, too! Only we don't have a garden. I don't like to touch dirt, and my husband is too busy being a farmer! *L*
ReplyDeleteAlthough, for not liking dirt - I managed to help butcher our broilers Wednesday! I actually cut them up. I couldn't believe I was actually doing that! But, you know, home-grown chicken doesn't feel slimy like store-bought chicken does. Maybe that was the difference.
:)
May your garden continue to grow!
I just discovered your blog, and I love it!!! Your posts are very practical, informative and inspirational. My husband and I are looking to downsize, as we're almost empty-nesters, and we are inspired by your determination to live fully and within your means.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Nikki
Nikki,
DeleteThank you so much for your kind remarks. I appreciate it so much. Good luck with downsizing. It can be quite a job but also quite liberating as you will find. Take care!