Each May, I’m like a kid before Christmas at garden centers, dreaming up edible gardens galore. I’m not one for flowers, mainly, because I kill them. I’m all for the practical garden.
By late August, most of my plants have gone to pot, due to boatloads of excuses. Moose started school earlier than I anticipated {he began August 8th} and we’ve had many rounds of sick that have made my backyard garden the neglected stepchild in the family.
I come from a long line of gardeners. My great-grandfather, Michaelangelo, had a killer garden until he died at 98 years old. He grew every pepper and nightshade imaginable. His Bartlett pear tree alone fed the block, and my fondest memories were devouring those pears in early fall.
So let’s start with all things beautiful: The success, which this year, were few and far between due to a colossal 8 inch rain fall in July that destroyed much of my garden’s progress {also, my yard isn’t level, so we often turn into a pond with a mere 2 to 3 inches of rain}.
Note to self next year: RAISED BEDS. Or move. Yeah.
Basil {always a winner, this plant is the neighborhood girl that gets around, with my neighbors sneaking in to get a piece of her, and with the price of basil, I could seriously rake in some cash at Farmer’s Markets. We’ve had lots of killer pesto. Recipe coming soon.}
Newbie to the backyard: Red Cabbage: A prize could be won at a county fair for this baby. Can’t wait til the King made a coleslaw from these bad boys.
Chives: The first to appear each March, and the last to die in November. Oh, how I love thee with smoke salmon in the morning.
Tomatoes: Despite some ugly leaves, the bounty has been good. San Marzano, Cherry, Plum. Maybe next year: Heirlooms if I feel all fancy. This evening, as I was picking some tomatoes for a garden salsa, I spied a teeny bunny living among the weeds in between my tomato plants. This explains the rabbit the Sir Doodle has been chasing each morning. I hear baby bunnies are good luck in Arabic culture {thanks Nat!}, so we are needing some good luck here. Thank you, lil’ bunny.
Zucchini: There’s something about the soil in my yard that loves this plant. We’ve had a ton already, but the goods are puttering out now. One plant died after that massive monsoon we had in July. Stay tuned for another recipe: The best gluten-free zucchini muffins EVER.
It was impossible to weed, given the cramped location behind our deck. I think I will plant herbs back here next year. Or something that adores neglect, like herbs.
The Pathetic Peppers: Bad spot I guess. One pepper. What a joke. Maybe great-grandfather would cringe.
The Sad Strawberries: The rabbits had a field day with these. See you next June.
Tomatoes: Made it in two categories. Good, because there is a ton of fruit, but gah, that massive rain made the leaves an eyesore to look at. I can’t wait to rip these babies out.
Any advice or thoughts for next year’s garden?
Have you posted on your garden? If so, leave me your link and I’ll stop by!
Your cabbage is beautiful! I love cabbage, but I want to plant it next year in my front yard, just because I think it looks pretty. I wonder what the neighbors will say?
Couple thoughts: heirloom tomatoes. For two years now we have planted Mr. Stripey (who can resist the name!) and they are delicious. They are an orangy-yellow color with red strips and the flesh is the orangy-yellow color. They have a really different flavor. Beautiful and delicious. Highly recommend if you can find them.
Strawberries. We had to chicken wire around the patch and then put up a “scarecrow” for the birds. It’s in quotes because it was really a spinning fish. It was our first year so the crop was very small and just a few berries at a time over the summer. Not ever enough to cook with. But I hear it takes a couple years before you get a good crop.
Visiting from Homestoreisa2Z. You garden looks much better than my Chicago garden, my first attempts at growing vegetables were a disaster. I did have better luck with my lavender..it like a dry sunny spot, I planted mine last fall and it did survive the Chicago winter!
Our garden was a horrible, horrible failure this year. Our zucchini plants popped themselves out of the ground, and I even planted them deeper than last year. Bastards.
Amy @ A Little Nosh
Gardening is trial and error and takes several years to know what grows well in your yard and area. Having a good veggie gardening book has helped me tremendously.