Friday, August 21, 2009

The Things I've Learned...

...From my garden:

Patience is a virtue. Will my bumper crop of tomatoes ever ripen?

Timing is everything. Unfortunately we lost our corn crop as we didn't harvest in time.

Keep a watchful eye. Ever trip over a 2 lb. zucchini?

Be ever so vigilant. The slugs had a field day with my watermelon.

Variety is the spice of life but diversity doesn't translate well in a small garden plot. My red, yellow and green peppers are quite psychedelic.

Curiosity may have killed the cat but lead me to this discovery: I think one of my cucumber plants and my cantaloupe cross pollinated. The reason for this hypothesis is that large, round, yellow cucumbers are growing on one plant and my ripe cantaloupe is not very sweet and has a strong hint of cucumber to its taste.

Segregation, in the proper context, may be the right thing to do. Being a 1st time gardener, I never knew that my cukes, zukes, cantaloupe and watermelon would attempt to stage a coup! They've nearly choked out all of my pepper plants! And they've got the tomatoes in an uproar, too. The 'maters have decided to rebel by rising up and spreading their plight beyond the constrains of their humble patch.

All in all, this summer has been a wonderful learning experience. The best part is the ability to share our bounty with others: either through the actual sharing of produce or the exchanging of new and exciting recipes.

My hat is off to gardeners everywhere: May there always be dirt under your nails!

10 comments:

Pelican Joe said...

The corn went bad before it was big enough to pick it.

Unknown said...

Hey hon...it's called "artistic license"! LOL!

Lissaloo said...

What a wonderful garden, full of good things and intrigue too! I want a piece of the cantaloupe it sounds interesting :)

ChristineM said...

mmmm...Cuculoupe.... ;)

I thought I kind of knew what I was doing, but I learned a lot from my garden too! Mainly, what succeeded last year will fail this year and vice-versa! And the "be vigilant" was right on...last year, Tomato Hornworms...this year, caterpillars on my broccoli!

L.B. said...

I have much respect for people who can grow a garden. I'd love to have herbs and vegetables at my disposal in my backyard but know that it would be a failed venture should I choose to undertake it. Awesome job with your garden.

This Wife Cooks said...

Great post! That is too funny about your new hybrid fruits, vegetables, whatever they are! I can barely keep a few herbs alive in my kitchen so I have alot of respect for anyone talented enough to grow actual food. :)

Tattoos and Teething Rings said...

Great lessons; mine would be "Know thyself" because I have learned that I am not a gardener :)

Katie said...

I learned some of the same lessons this year. We had tomatoes and pumpkins that over took everything else in the garden. Plus our tomatoes got so large that they ended up collapsing so we didn't get much of a crop. Even with wrapping them around those tomato holder things...lol, and staking them down, it was like the vines just got to large and to heavy and they gave up.

Willoughby said...

It sounds like your garden was a success overall. I wish I could say the same! Some animal has been eating my plants. I've yet to harvest a tomato and I'll be lucky to get a handful of green beans out of my dozen or so plants.

Raoulysgirl said...

I have a black thumb. Want to come plant a garden for me?? I promise that I will learn through your work!!! LOL!!! Sounds like a productive season...in more ways than one!!!

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