Seeing as how this whole me writing thing actually involves, well…me taking time to sit down and write- we are going to use what in TV land is known as flashbacks to see what happened after the set-up when last we saw the garden. This year’s garden has been planted -minus the okra which my local plant dealer has yet to produce due to things are just moving slow in the world of okra I guess. I also did some re-arranging of the beds to try and get more planting in. Thanks to this handy dandy little tool from LOML that I got for my birthday, this was all accomplished in just a few short hours.)
You all should have seen me behind this thing just tilling away. And no, it’s not the most romantic gift he’s ever given me- but it is the gift that I asked for and after 19.9 years of marriage I think that’s pretty darn good.
This year I did a separate smaller bed in a more shaded area for variety of lettuces a strawberries. (PSA- I have romaine for those of you looking for the non-E.coli version that has been in the markets recently.) I also decided to put out blueberry bushes and two more fig trees to go along with the one I inherited from LOML’s Aunt Florence. (PSA 2- I was told after the fact that you should plant different varieties of blueberry bushes to actually have success…I planted four bushes of the same but will keep you posted. There are berries on them, but likely they will all taste the same. Just a little gardening humor for you.) Thus far the strawberries have done nothing but sit there, however we’ve been enjoying a great deal of lettuce and even had enough to share.
Right after I planted the “little garden” we had a freeze come through! What to do?!? (Plus I needed to figure out a way to keep the deer out)This was my first attempt….I call it Samford and Son Gardening:
I then got a little craftier (and the sheet froze so I am not sure what good it did?) and opted for a more pleasing to the eye version of protecting the lettuces:
As lovely as this was, it was not so lovely having to go uncover the little boogers every so often. Then I needed the jars for a prom dinner we were hosting for the eldest darling so I had to remove the jars, but luckily the frost had pretty much ended. However, before all of this I still needed to keep the deer away. Samford and Son gardening continued:
What you can’t really see in this picture are the bells that are tied on the string along with the tin pans and the elaborate rigging system I had set up to keep everything in place. However, this didn’t last so I had to resort to an actual fencing of sorts. Prior to the fencing I did try this…I think the deer kicked them away because thy are all a good 6 feet from where I originally put them.
The fence went up and the lettuce has flourished!
Once the weather got warmer, and I had tilled what needed tilling in the original garden and got it planted. As you can see from comparing to where we were this time last year- the garden (paralleling my own life oddly) was slightly more hap-hazardous.
Uneven beds.
Square foot gardening completely out the window (however I still think it is the best and completely awesome).
In general, things weren’t just very neat and tidy during year two set up.
But it’s been planted and it’s been loved and tended to by me and some of my garden hands. (LOML and youngest darling when asked.) Still hoping to put in okra, but so far we have planted broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, a variety of peppers and some peas that little darling started from seeds at scouts several weeks back. He also started a pumpkin vine that didn’t transfer well to the garden so I just threw it into the pasture to see what would happen. Be on the look out for opening dates for the Turner Family Pumpkin Patch coming in Fall of 2018!
My Unorganized Life 