Growing up, my parents always had a garden. And us childrens were the labor. So I thought. We'd help with some of the work like picking and snapping beans. But really, we didn't know how good we had it. Fresh vegetables and parents that did much more work than we realized.
From my childhood experience and my deep love for a fresh, ripe from the vine tomatoes, I had this wonderful idea of starting our own vegetable garden this year.
We had this awful patch of weeds all along our fence row that seemed the perfect spot for such a garden. So, this past spring, my husband's father came over to help us clear it out and prepare the ground.
From my childhood experience and my deep love for a fresh, ripe from the vine tomatoes, I had this wonderful idea of starting our own vegetable garden this year.
We had this awful patch of weeds all along our fence row that seemed the perfect spot for such a garden. So, this past spring, my husband's father came over to help us clear it out and prepare the ground.
It looked so amazing all cleared out. I couldn't wait to get started planting. I was afraid we were behind on getting started for the season and was relieved to find out we still had to wait about a month before it was warm enough.
Once we were able to get out in the yard and plant our first seeds, we quickly learned our "perfect spot" was the lowest part of our yard. And when it rained so hard that there was no where for the rain to go, not only did our entire yard flood, the garden sat under water for more than a couple of days. But we prevailed, not giving up on our new endeavor.
Sadly, although some of the cucumber plants did grow, they never did fare well after the "flood." And our spinach and lettuce seeds washed away never to be seen again, too.
Amazingly, the weeds seeds, did NOT wash away. I can't tell you how many times I was out there weeding. They just about got the best of me. This picture (above) is after a day of weeding and watering. I marked my rows with sticks so I could find my plants later.
Once we were able to get out in the yard and plant our first seeds, we quickly learned our "perfect spot" was the lowest part of our yard. And when it rained so hard that there was no where for the rain to go, not only did our entire yard flood, the garden sat under water for more than a couple of days. But we prevailed, not giving up on our new endeavor.
Sadly, although some of the cucumber plants did grow, they never did fare well after the "flood." And our spinach and lettuce seeds washed away never to be seen again, too.
Amazingly, the weeds seeds, did NOT wash away. I can't tell you how many times I was out there weeding. They just about got the best of me. This picture (above) is after a day of weeding and watering. I marked my rows with sticks so I could find my plants later.
By the beginning of June, our plants were really starting to grow. Aren't they so cute? :) After another round of weeding, you can tell where I stopped the day I took this picture. With just half of the garden weeded, I needed a break from standing on my head for so long in the heat. I also quickly realized that I needed an expert to help me distinguish the weeds from the plants as they began to grow and were the same size and looked the same to me.
Closest in this picture are the flowers of the garden. ... Lillies from my parents' yard, sunflowers, some other tall pink flower (was supposed to come up red, but still pretty in pink) and zinnias from my father-in-law's stash of seeds.
This is probably the best picture of the garden. It was mid to late June at this point. This side of the garden is where our vegetables came to be... cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes (big boy and cherry) and watermelon.
And now for our final products...
zucchini...
the supposed to be red but still pretty in pink flowers....
cherry tomatoes...
sunflower...
yummy, ripe from the vine, tomato
and zinnias.
It's amazing how a blog can make everything appear so perfect, easy and wonderful. I could leave this post at this and anyone reading this would envy my green thumb! But I must share the other side of the coin, if for no other reason than when I read this next year, I will remember what was so hard about being a garden-owner.
First, I was wrong as a child. (Don't tell my parents I wrote this in case they don't read this.) But my parents had to have put in WAY more work than we realized as kids. My dad tilled, got the seeds, and looked over the garden way more often than we ever dreamed. We were only out there when forced (sorry, but it's true. I never went out there of my own will except to eat a tomato). My mom did all of the freezing corn, canning green beans and tomatoes, etc. in the hot summer.
Second, growing a garden where weeds have lived (for probably YEARS) may have been a bad idea. Sadly, the weeds do not forget that they were there first. Very stubborn (and shall I say EVIL) plants!
Finally, a "flood" then drought, evil bugs that killed our plants, larger animals (like maybe a deer) knocking over our sunflowers, and working on two landscaping projects while starting a garden all made for a difficult time (and not doing well in the heat).
I'm not sure what the moral of the story is yet. I think I would still like to have a vegetable garden, but I now have different expectations.
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