My vegetable garden originally started as a way to save money on groceries. Well be alerted! THIS IS NOT TIGHTWADDING!!! I estimate that I have spent twice as much as it would have cost to buy my vegetable at a farmers' market. My husband thinks it is even more than that. What was it spent on?
Rented the garden plot.
Seeds, seedlings, humus, plant food, lime, a trowel and a hoe (normal stuff).
Rented a rototiller.
A hose, 2 sprinklers, a 2 head faucet splitter and a timer (which didn't work).
Exchanged the timer for another (which doesn't work).
PVC pipe for tomato and eggplant stakes and 225 ft of rope.
Tomato ties.
Sunscreen.
Another 225 ft of rope.
Chicken wire and surveyor stakes to keep the armadillo(s) out.
Pepper and tomato seedlings to replace the ones the armadillo dug up.
Aluminum foil to scare the birds away.
A bottle of soap (the boys don't help, so how are they getting so dirty?).
More sunscreen.
More plant food.
Weed killer (which didn't work).
A hose end sprayer (which was the wrong kind for the weed killer).
Pizza to reward my husband for helping me weed (once).
Black plastic ground cover (to kill the weeds).
Insecticidal dust (to kill the caterpillars that killed my cauliflower).
Another 1100 ft of rope (I won't run out this time!).
My husband is just waiting to hear what I need to buy next!
(And by the way, the armadillo got in again through the neighbors garden.)
How it began...
It all began innocently enough. I thought gardening would be a great way to get the boys outdoors more, introduce them to the work ethic and get some botany lessons in on the side. So I rented a plot at the base garden, which was unfortunately on the other side of the flightline from housing. So tending the garden meant driving across base. As a novice gardener, I was totally unprepared for Florida's sandy soil. We are talking beach here, folks. Whatever dirt appeared in the garden was only there through human intervention, bags and bags of soil and hummus from the Garden Store.
I planned a "salsa" garden with tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos, and onions. On the side I planted a few plants new to me, and of course, the obligatory squashes (I had to have something I could count on). After weeks of preparation, tilling, planting, and general tending, I was beginning to look forward to harvesting some produce ...
The Week before Last Week . . .
Somebody please tell me it only gets easier! Well, last week I harvested any tomato that had even a hint of red on it. The birds have eaten their last ripe tomato! Now they can start in on the green ones. Next week I may be harvesting green tomatoes too. Does anyone have any favorite green tomato recipes? I would love to have them.
The weeding has indeed gotten easier, but only because I pulled up all of my cold weather crops. Both of my cabbage varieties bolted. It had been advised that I plant earlier next year. It has also been suggested that I plant more hot weather plants (okra, collard and the like). Well, if I can't get the vegetables that I like to grow, maybe the ones that I'm not fond of will flourish.
From here on out, it only gets hotter, and in case of hurricane, much, much windier (is that a word?). It is too hot to weed even at midnight, but at least I wouldn't burn. Then I can say "Hi" to Mr. Armadillo and The Racoon Family. They have been extremely active now that everyone's corn in coming in.
I asked one apparently sucessful gardener what his secret was. He told me that before he plants he:
1. tests the soil
2. kills the grubs with diazanon
3. adds lime
4. adds compost
5. adds humus, and,
6. adds 2 other things, but I've forgotten their chemical names,
and during the growing season he:
1. fertilizes every 7-14 days
2. fertilizes after every hard rain
3. sprays for fungus
4. works calcium into the soil
5. hangs red glass Christmas ornaments around his tomatoes (tricks the birds into believing your entire crop is hard and tasteless) and,
6. weeds for 25 hours each day and when he has time on his hands, he weeds for an additional 5 hours each day (Ok, but he really does do the rest).
Last Week . . .
I have been busier in the kitchen than in the garden. This week I have canned 7 pints of dill pickles, 3 pints of pickled jalenpenos, 5 pints of hot wax peppers, 12 pints of salsa, 6 pints of sweet pickled squash, 4 quarts of squash and 1 quart of carrots. Not bad for a beginner, but it doesn't even begin to compare with my gardening neighbor. She put up 70 quarts of beans!!
Baby eggplants abound! Shouldn't be long before we are enjoying eggplant parmesean. Several of my tomato plants continue to produce well. Likewise, I should be harvesting another crop of peppers soon.
I don't have the over abundance of squash and zucchini that I expected. But I certainly am not complaining. I'll be eating these words in a few more weeks if they take off.
Well, this is it . . .
Having developed a sincere appreciation for nature, I am letting my garden return to its original state. This week I will be salvaging the tomato stakes and ties, and the chicken wire and stakes, and anything else that I can find amongst the growing weeds.
I harvested a wonderful muskmelon this week. One fruit was lost to fungus as it sat upon bare ground. The remaining all sit safely upon plastic mulch.
Alas, the eggplants just weren't meant to be. As each plant neared ripening, it was beset with some sort of rotting disorder. I am not even going to try and figure out what it is.
I am busy planning a fall garden. One of the joys of Florida is its potential for a two season garden. I hope to have a container garden of some sort in my back yard. I want to work on a way to make it portable so that it can be sheltered in the event of hurricane (we had two last year!). Well, I am open to suggestions. Please let me know if something has worked for you.
Footnote:
That fall garden was never to be. We soon had orders to move to Illinois. While I was excited at the prospect of moving to farm country, I arrived at our new base pregnant and decided that gardening while I looked rather like a pumpkin was out of the question.
The following summer, we already had orders to Germany. Boy that will take the wind out of your sails. Being able to can and eat your produce is half the fun, so it just doesn't mix with moving. Well, maybe next year...
Surprise, surprise, I was already pregnant with our next child when we moved (boy does my husband not want to PCS again!), Once again was lumbering around waiting for our 4th son instead of planting and weeding during our first spring and summer in Germany. Next year, next year...
