Friday, February 18, 2011

My Garden



This year will be my fifth year of having a vegetable/fruit garden. You would think that after five years I would have an abundance of knowledge of gardening and have no problems growing plants that produce fruit- well you would be wrong! Every year my garden is a source of great frustration and a money pit!

Year One- The first year I had a new baby and did not think I had enough time for a garden so I bought two raspberry plants. Within a few days my plants were attacked by Japanese bettles, so I covered them up with fabric tulle and used some sort of powder to get rid of them. They were attacked so viciously I thought they would not make it through the year- however those plants were sturdy and have come back every year since and I think that it even produced about a dozen red raspberries over five years.

Year Two- I planted lettuce (the fancy kind) directly into the ground, tomatoes, and peppers. The lettuce was great- I had a ton, however my husband decided he did not like that type of lettuce so even though I had a ton, a lot was wasted because I could not eat that much lettuce. We also had a drought that summer so even though my tomatoes and peppers were watered almost every day we still had problems and had only a few tomatoes (I think that I planted 8 plants) and the garden did not produce any peppers.

Year Three- I planted tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers. My tomato plants were doing great and I had some huge tomatoes which were a few days from being fully ripe and a coyote attacked my garden and knocked down the fencing destroying my tomato plants and removing the tomatoes from the plants and then deciding he did not like green tomatoes and spit them all over the ground. My zucchini plant looked to be doing great then it was attacked by a bug that killed it. The cucumbers were the only vegetable that we were able to eat that year. I think we had three huge cucmbers then the plant was attacked by a bug and died!

Year Four- Last year I decided to go crazy and plant a bunch of things because surely something may work! I started early and planted several different plants in containers and started them inside. I planted sunflowers, turnips, carrots, peas, watermelon, tomatoes, basil, peppers, lettuce, green onions and artichokes. I was so excited because I had six sunflowers and they were a couple feet tall. The flowers on the plants were beautiful, until the deer came by and ate all the tops of the flowers off leaving the rest of the plant to die. The turnips did not grow big enough to eat, the green onions just kind of died, the lettuce did not make it and the artichokes are a two year plant so hopefully this year they will do well. We had several little tomatoes, about 6-8 green peppers, two dinners worth of carrots, one serving of peas, two tiny watermelon and a bunch of basil. At the end of the year I also planted a grape vine and strawberries, which will hopefully come back up this year.

I am hoping that my garden does well this year. I am planning on starting seeds again this year. Today I went to Lowes and bought yellow squash, brussels sprouts and tomatillos. But we shall see!!!

17 comments:

AmberFaith said...

New follower! Found you from You Like Me Friday Blog hop! (:

Amber
http://beautifullybellafaith.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

I love to garden, but I stick to flowers. My parents were huge organic gardeners and I have some very funny memories of having to visit neighbors with "gifts" from the garden. You haven't lived till you have tried every conciveable zuchni relish, pickel, bread, you get the point! That's why I stick to flowers! Good luck!

Thrift Schooling said...

Thanks for following my blog! I'm following you back! heather

Hanna said...

Hi there! I am your newest follower from last week's blog hop:) Lovely blog:) You can find me at www.bouffeebambini.blogspot.com
I have some amazing handmade giveaways going on! Take a peek!

The Creative Chickadee said...

Following you back Amanda. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I have always wanted a vegetable garden and have even looked into composting, but for now I am sticking with flowers. They give me enough grief with out adding vegetables. I look forward to hearing about your success this year. Surely, this will be your year. ;)

Kellyl

Lily Dawn said...

I definitely do not have a green thumb- I have tried a few times to grow a little garden, didn't work out too well =) Good luck on your garden!!

Lily =)
New Follower!
http://www.alilstory.com/2011/02/ff-cranky-mccranky-pants.html

Amanda said...

Just wanted to say hi from one Amanda to another =)

Freckleberry Mom said...

Following back! I hope I can get a garden going this year!

Amie said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I would love to have a garden but we have too much shade in our back yard (which is a good thing as this Canadian gets much too hot here). I tried a to plan a few pots last year but was to tired to take care of them (I was pregnant) maybe this year I'll do better.
http://andweareoffto.blogspot.com
Amie

Heather Irwin said...

This year is going to be my first year planting a garden...I really hope it works out! My mom was always so great at it...hope I can follow in her footsteps. I'm a new GFC follower from the Weekend blog hop. Hope you will stop by and say hello
feelinkindacrunchy.blogspot.com

Carol Lawrence And Stacy Toten said...

About six years ago Raspberry bushes appeared in one of my raised garden beds. Now it has completely taken over. What I've learned they love good organic compost, lot's of water, direct sunlight and they produce fruit in their second year. Old canes that are no longer producing need to be cut out. Maybe this year will be different with your gardening experience. My gardening years are up and down as well. Sunflowers tend to take over and I have access to a great farmers market all summer and a co-op with lot's of fresh vegies.

Kimberly said...

New follower! Found you at Moms Bloggers Club!
Blessings,
Kimberly
http://www.mayberrymoneysaver.com

Brea said...

I want so badly to plant a veggie garden this year!! Good luck with yours!!

KerrieLynn, The Mix Gal said...

Hi, I am a new follower who found you through the “Mom Blog Monday” blog hop. I love to find new blogs to follow, so I’m looking forward to following yours. If you are able, I appreciate a follow back ~ I’m still a new blogger and a growing blog is a happy blog!
Thank you!
~KerrieLynn ღೋ☙❤
KLsCupboard.blogspot

Lacie said...

I found you on the Monday blog hop. I'm a new follower.

Lacie

www.IdahoAtHeart.blogspot.com

Gina Alfani said...

I love gardening and growing my own vegetables. One of the most satisfying things about gardening is making a pasta sauce from everything grown in my garden :)

Thanks for following my food blog . . . I'm following your blog as well!

Have a wonderful day . . . Gina

http://ginasitaliankitchen.blogspot.com
http://subtropical-gardening.blogspot.com

Kathryn said...

I can't wait to start gardening this year!