I
know, I was supposed to keep everyone up to date and appraised on how
the garden was going this year. Life, of course got in the way every
time I thought about sitting down and writing. So now, it's November
and the gardening year is past done. I can at least give a look back
and provide an overview of how the year went.
For the year overall, the higher than usual heat and lower rains made
things difficult. It was a constant struggle to keep the garden from
completely drying out and getting absolutely nothing. As it was, if
I missed a day or two of watering, the plants started to wither and I
would have to try and get them back to something resembling normal.
The rains finally came in September, but it was really too late to do
any good. And it was a good thing I decided to leave a portion of
the garden 'fallow' as they did finally come out to paint the house.
They were able to do what they needed to do without endangering the
plants.
For specific plants and results I'll start with the seeds. Green
beans did well again, I think they seem to be the most adaptable of
the plants. We were able to get a fair amount, and it was a nice
compliment to our meals. Peas? Again, we got some but not a lot.
It may have been the weather, or some other factor that seems to
limit the yield. It was enough to add variety to our meals. The
carrots were somewhat of a disappointment. They never really got
going and so it was a continuing struggle to just keep them from
dying. Onions? They also never really got going. I'm not sure what
the issue was with them, but I think we can try those again the next
time around.
Now for the plants. Tomatoes did fairly well this year, considering
they generally do not do well in this part of the country. We got a
number of tomatoes to add to our salads. The peppers actually
produced a couple, but due to the constant fight for moisture, the
flavor was not the best. Lemon cucumbers were the best producers of
the bunch, and it was an interesting change from traditional
cucumbers. We were only able to get one decent sized spaghetti
squash, with two other tiny ones. It is waiting right now for a
final decision as the vine it was on died before it was really ready.
It may ripen, or it may rot.
As
a final bit, this year was a mixed bag. We didn't get as much as I
hoped, but that was more due to the weather causing problems than
anything else. However, it wasn't so bad that I want to give up on
it completely. Some different plants next year, and maybe even
changing the direction of the rows of seeds might make a difference.
Who knows?
