Gardening 2014: Take 6

Gardening 2014
Take One here.  



 
 
 

 
Oh Garden. You're all brown now. Early frost, I wasn't prepared. Just some brussel sprouts, cabbage, parsnips, collared greens and kale out there now. That's it.  But we are enjoying a spot of color close by. I do love fall.


So, 2014, not the best gardening year for us. It started off grand! Then deer helped themselves at the beginning of the year.  And then we had company for one week with a two week vacation after that, which means a whole month of things not tended and going wild. Oh well. And then the crickets (like a million of them), slugs, Japanese beetles, potato bugs, cutworms, squash bugs (almost all of my squash they got!) and then blight ruined my tomatoes.  All these creatures have it in for me, they do! Weeds will surely be the death of me, I tell you. And the soil, this is my biggest challenge right now. When we first moved, they did some work and deposited one foot of sandy soil on top of the soil that held a garden for 100 years. This year I took wheelbarrows full of richer soil from under the barn. Lots and lots of them, I did. By hand. But I still need more soil work. We now have a farm trucks (SQUEEE), even with Maine Farm plates on it. (SQUEEE! And thanks BOG!).  Manure is in our near future. Hopefully lots of it.  I used my scale to mostly keep track, only I got discouraged when those squash bugs ruined my squash. I stopped calculating at 250 pounds. It's still a good amount, although I know we've done better in years past.
 
The best part of the garden?
 
Tables that look like this. Homemade, locally bought, homegrown.
 
 
And kids who are excited to see meals as such.


 

 
And this mama certainly enjoys watching them consume Maine grown/Maine made.

Although it wasn't a great garden year, growing a little bit of something is always worth the effort.  Next year? It will be better. How do I know? I'm sure of it because I'm already planning it.
 

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