Garden Update

So, I had to kill my garden yesterday.  Well, my garden technically was dead but I buried the remainder in a trash can.  I don't know if it was the flood, bugs/snails or something else, but it wasn't looking too hot.

I had been out of town at my parents house during the flood and came back to a mess.  My garden looked like it had been eaten by something but then again it hadn't.  I don't know.

The carrot leaves used to stand straight up and be really bushy, but then they started to droop and get brown.  I pulled one up and it was mushy.  It might have been eaten or it might have just gotten too soggy in all the rain we have gotten but it was gross. I pulled a few more up and they were all the same.  Bye, bye, carrots.

The broccoli was barren of leaves so I pulled it up and it came out of the ground super easy, like the roots weren't alive anymore.  Bye, bye broccoli.

Radishes and beets were long gone but the few remaining ones looked not edible.  Bye.

The green onions were alive and kicking, but they needed to be picked anyway.  They were promptly added to salads.

The tomatoes were originally in pots but they looked sickly and yellow, so in early May I added them to the ground where they died.  (Sad face!)

There was a cucumber plant that magically appeared on the outside of the garden.  I'm not sure where it came from because I didn't have any of those seeds.  It was probably left over from the year before or something.  Back in late June it was eaten by a bug (I don't use pesticides) and died.


Back in June I added a black netting above the garden to help with the heat, but I guess it didn't work or maybe it worked too well?  I do't know.  I need to take a gardening class pronto.

So, that's the story of my 2017 garden.  It's sad but this wasn't a successful year for my gardening thumb.

Tomatoes: 6
Radishes:  36
Carrots:  1
Beets:  2
Green Onions:  10 (all regrowth from ones we had already used)
Broccoli:  0
Cucumber:  1

Garden Markers and Gnomes

I wanted some garden markers for my plants just in case I forgot which is which.  Plus, they are just cute and add color to your garden.  I looked on Pinterest and decided to paint my own with pictures of the various vegetables I planted.

Now, I know that I am not the best artist, but I think you get the general idea of what I had planted.  We used smooth stones (taken from my aunts flower bed-she had tons don’t worry) and used outdoor acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby.  After I painted them I also sprayed a clear coat of paint on top of them.

My other garden accessory is a gnome family that moved in overnight.  What a bunch of freeloaders! :)

I got this at Family Dollar for $5 and it is too cute.  I just love it.  Love does grow here.

My 2017 Garden

I created a garden last year but didn’t’ want to do another one this year.  I have been travelling a lot and didn’t want the plants to die and asking someone else to take care of it isn’t the best solution.  My niece came over and we replanted some green onions.  (Did you know that if you cut off the bottom part of the green onion where the white roots are, they will regrow?!)  After we planted those, she brought her sunflower plant that she made at the Rodeo to plant and that turned into a huge garden.  Hmph. 

I can’t say no to that little face of hers!  We got three planter boxes and also planted in the 4x8 in ground box I planted in last year.  Here is what we planted:

-3 Roma tomato plants (planter)

-3 misc tomato plants (planter)

-Artisan Lettuce Blend (planter)

-Green onions (replanted stem) (in ground box)

-Carrots (replanted stem) (in ground box)

-Bell pepper (replanted seeds/stem) (in ground box)

-Carrot seeds (in ground box)

-Radish seeds (in ground box)

-Beet seeds (in ground box)

-Radish seeds (in ground box)

-Broccoli plants (2) (in ground box)

-Sunflowers (plant)-Kali stepped on this and we think it died. :/

So far the plants are doing well.  The tomatoes have three that are getting bigger and the seeds from the other plants are doing well.  The planters did not have holes in the bottom so a few of them had water staying inside and creating a mush.  We drilled some holes in the bottom and they are doing great now.  Fingers crossed that they stay that way.

I will let you guys know our “harvest” totals.  It is so cute seeing her get so excited about gardening!  She wears a little hat, has a pink (her fav color) watering can, and even has gardening gloves so her hands won’t get dirty.   We’ll see if she actually eats any of the vegetables she harvests.  One can only hope.

My Garden Update

Now that it is winter and my summer plants have officially quit on me, it's time for an update!  Do y'all remember when I planted my garden last Spring?  Well, my harvest was quiet plentiful for my first try, in my opinion.

Here is the count:

Okra: 208
Cucumbers: 27
Bell Pepper:  1! It was tiny but it grew in December
Cilantro:  0 so ummm, these died almost right away in the Texas heat
Eggplant:  0  the plants themselves look awesome, but no eggplants came to be


Obviously, the okra did the best out of all of them.  I planted three plants and all three were very fruitful.  Okra is easy!  I had originally planned to pickle the okra but I never learned how to pickle stuff so that didn't happen.  I mostly just cut them up into small pieces to add to gumbos or bake as a side dish.  On my next garden I will for sure plant these.

The cucumbers were growing great at one point but tasted awful!  I heard that when they taste bad they need more water but I watered them a ton!  Oh well, I won't plant them again.  Towards mid-summer they just died all of the sudden due to what we think was some type of bug.  The bug didn't touch any of the other plants, but it loved the cucumber plant.  Plus, the cucumber took over everything in the garden so if I were to plant them again, they would be in a separate garden.

The bell pepper was always a tiny plant that didn't grow over a foot tall.  I think the Texas heat got to it because in the fall it started to have flower buds.  In late November/early December it started to have a little pepper on it.  BUTTTTTTTTT when I picked it to bite into it, it had been sitting there too long and it was moldy inside.  I KNOW!  I am grossed out again just thinking about it, but it happened.  LOL. I learned my lesson about biting into vegetables (that I grew at least) before I cut into them.  #dontdoit


Will I grow a garden next year?  Ummmm.  I'm not sure. I have been travelling a lot lately and I'm not sure if I want another one at this time. It isn't fair for them not to get watered or someone else to have to do it for me. I want to buy some land eventually and can just have one there in the future.

So, I will not be applying to get a date on farmersonly.com ;) haha

Look at My New Garden

Look at my plants!   Look at my soil! :)

I started a garden!  There was an old garden in the back yard that was run over by weeds but I cleaned it up and made a fun place for veggies to grow.  I am SO EXCITED!!!!  I decided to only plant vegetables that I love so I wouldn’t have waste.   The garden is 8 feet by 4 feet.

Over grown garden before. I got quite a workout cleaning this up and quite a sunburn.

That is a snake and bug paradise!  Not anymore!

I removed all of the weeds...there were A LOT!

 

Old railroad ties that were removed.

I planted Cucumbers (3), Okra (3), Eggplant (3), Cilantro (2), and Red Pepper (1). 

Then, every garden needs a mascot so I invited these two to live in my vegetable paradise.  These flamingos are Mae and Henry!  Mae has sequins as wings and Henry has glitter.  Beautiful.

 

New wood and soil!

Last but not least, I got a new hat.  Yes, the purpose of gardening is ONLY to have cute accessories, wouldn’t you agree.

Have a great day!  Eat ‘yo veggies.