8.09.2010

It's My Garden, I Can Cry If I Want To...

Gardens. Been there. Done that. Won't do another one next year. Last summer we had the most beautiful garden. It looked like this:


And we had produce that blew us away, like this...


...and this...


...and tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers galore!




This year we got a later start due to the longer, colder winter we experienced. Not to worry, we thought, it was so easy last year! Well, the joke is on us. Let me show you what we're looking at this year...

A little different than last year's photo...


It started when our cucumber plants died overnight. We're still not sure if it was the bugs or a root rot or a combination of both. It was an exceedingly dry summer, which meant that we had to water everything - maybe that was part of the problem? We really don't know, but we do know they all died and our water bills were high with very little to show for our efforts (see below).


Sad, isn't it? We did get some tomatoes - though many of our plants were stunted and produced nothing.


...but we'll end on the only high point of the garden this year...


So, as you might be able to tell, we're fed up with the garden and caring for it. We stopped weeding and we decided that we won't be doing a garden next year (other than a few things in large pots on the deck). And we're okay with that. I really hope my pumpkins pull through, but right now things aren't looking too good. Every time I get a pumpkin it falls off when it reaches the size of a small plum. Anyone know what could be causing that??? Also, not holding out hope for the stunted pepper plants - guess I'll start looking for sales at the grocery! {SIGH} I certainly hope those of you who were doing gardens this year had a better experience!

Linking to the garden party over at An Oregon Cottage.

12 comments:

  1. Wow, I am sorry for your disappointment. Those photos of your first garden are amazing! Still, you did get all those lovely tomatoes this summer--yum!

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  2. Thanks for coming to my blog from the Blog Hop.....I am so Jealous of those Tomatoes. We moved in June from Kansas to Ga so my Tomatoes did not do a thing . Thanks again and I am sure you will see me again.

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  3. uh, I am known as the garden killer. Perhaps your garden died because you commented on my blog. It very well could be that bad. :) I had a bitty garden this year... my peas withered cause it got too hot to fast. My corn tasseled early cause it was too dry and my onions got eaten by the neighbors cat... go figure. I gave up and am growing a great crop of weeds. Yes, sir, I can grow weeds. :)
    Thanks for your encouragement on my blog and for stopping by!

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  4. We're sort of going through the same thing with our garden this year. We elected to just not go crazy planting stuff because we're trying to figure out exactly what we want to do back there in the future...and aside from a few tomatoes, peppers and lettuce, we've grown nothing this year. Oh well...sometimes perfect gardens are just not in the cards!

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  5. Thanks so much for stopping by on the Blog Hop. I'm really enjoying the Giver it is NOT what I expected at all. Could it be that I'm a science fiction fan???

    My teeny tiny garden was a bust this year too. Maybe some day I'll try again but for now we're totally satisfied with the farmer's market and leaving the growing to the experts!

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  6. I'm hoping that when (if) my tomatoes ever change from flowers into actual tomatoes that they will look as good as yours! Otherwise, I'll be shopping the grocery sales too. ;-)

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  7. I know how you feel. Every year is different, just like life. My garden is only about half as good as in previous years. I just take what it gives and keep trying different things. I finally got a pepper flower last week and will probably not see any ripe ones. Oh Well, don't lose hope!

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  8. I understand! Almost every year I declare it's my last year of gardening. Then in the dark cold days of winter that first garden catalog comes in the mail and I start salivating over fresh veggies and I'm caught up in it again!

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  9. Aww how sad! Your tomato plant looks amazing though. I am totally jealous. What helps us is using raised beds, so we don't have to weed. I also ran a soaker hose through the bed and put it on a timer so we don't have to water. It takes most of the work out. :)

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  10. My garden is actually doing better this year than last year, so you might not want to give up on gardening too soon. Next year could be better. Did you rotate your crops this year? If not, you might want to do it next year...that is if you decide to do one again. I can't get over how many tomatoes you had in that sink last year. What did you do with them? Did you can?

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  11. Ahh, say it isn't so! I get such a thrill out of growing anything to eat, it breaks my heart to think you're going to give up! I concur with Lauren and Family Balance: raised beds (at least 8 inches) with good soil, soakers to water, and rotating crops (some diseases, bugs overwinter) makes gardening so easy and the plants love it.

    Hope you change your mind in the dark of winter. :-)
    Thanks for sharing at the Tuesday Garden Party.

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  12. Wow, last years garden looked great!. You still have more tomatoes than I do. This is my first year, and I was really hoping it would go better, but the weather and the bugs have made it hard for the plants to thrive. Did you have bacterial wilt(spread by the cucumber beetle) on your cucumbers? We only got one cucumber before they were killed by those little buggers.

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