It’s been a strange year, weather-wise. It was summer-like weather in March, then rain, then cold, then more rain, then hot.
My garden doesn’t know whether to start producing or give up. But stuff is growing,
My tomatoes aren’t producing Jack-In-The-Beanstalk stalks this year, which is a good thing. The plants are shorter, but healthier. Last year it would have taken Shaquille O’Neal to pick tomatoes from the tallest vines. They were all stalk and not much fruit. This year, I already have one small tomato, which I’m sure the squirrels or chipmunks will find.
I had a great stand of spring onions – it’s hard to go wrong with those cooperative plants – and my lettuce did well. I have a bunch of cucumber vines that seem to be just taking off and a half-dozen yellow squash plants. I am going to try to be diligent with regular sprayings of Sevin this year, and try to keep the squash borers at bay.
I also put in a couple of small rows of green beans, and they are very healthy. Pepper plants, too.
We had one deer attack several weeks ago. The thieving beasts jumped over a 5-foot fence and did some damage to a few green bean plants. So I bought a case of Irish Spring Soap and hung a bar on each fence post. It smells like a locker room at ACAC back there now, and I haven’t had a deer since (knock on wood). We also sprinkled some Deer Fence around the yard for extra measure, and I need to do more of that.
I’d love to hear how other fellow backyard gardeners are doing.
I still think – financially – you’d be better off going to the Farmer’s Market every Saturday and not spending any money on seeds, fertilizer, deer spray, fences, mulch, stakes, wire and stuff, but having a little garden plot on the back yard sure is fun.