This year's garden

My cucumbers should be 3/4 of the way to the top by now...

This is just sad...

My string beans look like they are trying to keep me sane by looking decent.

I have 3 raised beds and grass started growing in between them so I just went with it.  

Well I am not giving up for it is not in my nature but upon looking at my older posts (I knew I would be glad I wrote them)- I know it is not all in my head.  My garden this year is stinkin! I tried the raised garden beds and filled them mostly with top soil.  Don't do it people! Bad idea! If you are going to use the raised garden beds, mix in some of the soil that you have with potting soil and a few others, etc.  I started my seedlings in February, planted them at the end of May, and they don't look like they grew during June....



I put down lime (thanks Dad!) and I see a slight improvement.  I asked the Home Depot guy why is lime important and basically, as far as I understand it, it opens up the pores of the soil so that it is willing to accept whatever good fertilizer you would like to give it.  So I put down lime about 4 days ago and sprayed Miracle Grow on everything today.  I always feel like that is cheating for some reason. 

So, in an attempt to not weep over my garden losses, I did buy a few extra plants (2 tomato, 1 cucumber, 1 pumpkin).  As I went out into the front yard to put lime down on the grass out there....the puppy ate one of the tomato plants and well....his head smelled like tomato leaves for two days.  I was upset for about 2 seconds and then I burst out laughing.

tomato plant eater

It may not be the best garden this year but by God, I will do everything within my power to ensure that it produces!

seed starting

I think that more than anything...this was to satisfy my ' I need to start my garden' craving.  I look at these now and they look healthier here than weeks later and yes,  I did harden them off.

So I tried this light system using aquarium lights to try to grow my plants.  Note to self- hang light closer to the plants next year!

As the plants got bigger, I took them off of the stand which created the close proximity to the lamp.  Bad move.  Time to hit garage sales for a nice, cheap, metal shelving unit to house my little greenhouse project next year.

~ Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed. ~

    Lewis Gannit

Love this quote!  Or....to put the empty bottle in a pot as an irrigation system! Hah!

 

Recycling at its best! Gayla Trail gave me the idea to start with soda bottles....then I progressed to the glass globes...and then finally onto wine bottles.  The bottles hold a lot of water and keep my plants nice and cozy!

The start of some seeds

It's about that time!

Now is when I take time posting pictures that I tried to space out in time as to see how the land evolves.