Not a Great Season

The season is almost over and I haven't accomplished much this year. After the injury in June I have been even more limited than usual in my mobility. I had placed the garden in a back area that was too far for me to walk many days. I was lucky that we had plenty of rain most of the summer. We did go through a drought period in Aug and I had to let my mini pumpkins, gourds, okra and a few other things go even before they produced anything. There was not enough rain water left to go around.

I was able to keep the cherry and romano tomatoes going. With just 2 plants each I didn't get as much output as I would like but they have suddenly come to the life the last few weeks and I am suddenly gathering enough for a salad every few days.
Another surprise, the mini watermelons are suddenly trying to make a few. There were 3 tiny melons the size of marbles on them Friday so I fed them a little Miracle Grow to see if they might develop before the cold rolls in. Another surprise, the pole beans are suddenly trying to produce but only one of the 8 plants. I ask, what do you do with 6 beans LOL.

Altogether I have harvested almost nothing this year. I have narrowed it down to several mistakes that I think I can fix next year.

Mistake #1 - The Wrong Fertilizer
It took so long for anything to develop this year. I think I am using the wrong Miracle Grow. This one says it is good for flowers and garden plants and is blue. However, the one I always used before said it was for the garden only and was pink. I know my tomatoes shot up 4 feet in a week. They were much too tall and spindly and never spread out properly. Once I got flowers it was another 2 weeks before any fruit showed up then it took another 3-4 weeks for it to ripen.

Mistake #2 - The Wrong Soil Mix
Another problem was the dirt I used. I purchased some of the cheap "under $2 a bag" potting soil from WM. I also had a couple bags each of manure and the expensive lightweight stuff. I had trouble handling the bags after my fall and dumped the dirt into the pots direct from the bags - big mistake. The cheapo soil had too much clay in it and would cake over with a hard crust. I tried starting carrots and lettuce 3 times. They would seem to be sprouting then we would get a rain and it would dry out with that hard crust and the plants dead.

In the meantime I used the lightweight stuff in the hanging baskets and was tickled with how easy it was for me to handle them. I was thinking about splurging and buying a few more bags until I discovered it also does not hold water very well. Within 24 hours of a soaking rain I already had plants wilting.

Next year I will dump all the various kinds of dirt into the wheelbarrow and mix them together then redo all of the pots. I think this will solve the problem. I also want to check into these new polymer crystals that you can add to the dirt to keep things from drying out too soon.

Mistake #3 - Starting too late
I was teaching a few days a week and very sick in the winter and spring so I was late getting my plants started. I finally bought a few plants at the store but it was still a few weeks later until I got them planted.

Mistake #4 - Placed it Wrong/Not enough Sun
I had tried tracking the sun the first two years and thought I had a pretty good idea of where to put the garden. Unfortunately that area is smaller this year because some more limbs and scrub trees have grown up and blocked more sunlight. With my bad leg I was unable to climb up the hill and cut them back but didn't realize it would be a problem until we were well into summer and I was unable to move the garden. I need to move it about 10 ft forward and about 15 ft to the right and I will be positioned for longer hours.



I still have no running water, I'm trying to get someone over to look at the well but it is like pulling teeth. If I have enough money leftover, I am thinking about buying one or two of those AeroGardens so I can have lettuce and tomatoes all winter or I may just try to set up my own system inside. Right now I don't have heat except in the bedroom so I would have to make room for them.

I was thinking about putting in some fruit trees next year but a member of our church has taken over caring for an apple orchard and has offered us all we want. Since I just need a few for applesauce I may just rely on that. Seems every year I stumble over someone giving away more than they can handle. Since I have very little area that gets sunlight, I may save that for the basic garden.