Mrs. B Takes On...: Garden Watch Update

Well, here we are in September. Wowza, can you believe it?? Where did the summer go? A few months back, I did a post on my new garden and vowed to keep you in the loop as things developed. This was my first attempt at an outdoor garden, aside from a tomato plant or herb pot here and there. So, what have I learned you ask? Well, I've learned that soil and consistent watering are KEY to growing edible things. The first few months of growth were pretty measly. Things were creeping along at a snail's pace. I blame this partially on being cheap and buying plain old topsoil instead of garden soil and the fact that we are sitting on a clay hill! Secondly, I was an inconsistent water-er, that's right, I admit it, I would sometimes miss a day or two only to realize everything was drooping, then drown it all to make up for it. It took a few months and a couple trips out of town to finally get a timer for the hose. Once that was in place, at least I could say the irrigation situation was under control. Unfortunately, the dirt was just dirt and my garden remained stifled. So, I found a great organic fertilizer and went to town with it. Sure enough, in about two weeks it was like the Garden of Eden back there! Ok, ok, let's not get carried away but it was a big improvement. Things started flourishing, doubling in size, flowering even. I thought to myself, this is it, you've done it! You've taken on a garden and succeeded. Only there wasn't any produce... a bean here, a puny tomato there but no real yield. What happened with my corn is probably the most frustrating thing in the garden. It jumped up and grew like crazy until one stalk was almost the same height as the fence and I even saw two ears growing! Then one day I realized that there were ants all over the ears. I did some googling and found out that ants mean aphids or other lil critters. Sure enough, the inside of my ears were destroyed :'( I found an organic bug spray to try and knock 'em out. Sure enough, it killed the bugs but unfortunately it also killed my corn. This makes Mrs. B very, very sad... I MURDERED my corn!!!

A midst all the tragedy, there have been a few bright spots. My carrots are coming along nicely, the basil and other herbs are gigantic, and the tomatoes are finally getting big and ripe. I wouldn't call the garden a failure but I wouldn't say I'm ready to support myself after the Apocalypse, either. I was hoping to be canning my bountiful harvest all fall but looks like I'll be taking notes on what to do next year instead! In a few weeks, I'm going to turn everything over and try out the cardboard composting that I've seen online. That will hopefully help with the soil for next year. I'm also going to get a much earlier start next spring.

It may not have been a stunning success but hey, that's what this blog and LIFE is all about, taking on new challenges and learning from mistakes :)