The difficulties of gardening..

[coloradoclyde]

This year has been a challenge for my garden. but every year presents it own problems..
Some years rain is a problem...some years it's a drought...some years hail takes your crops...the list goes on....

This year storms have pommeled me.....First flattening one corn patch when a tree fell on it...then high winds took out the other corn patch, flattening it like a pancake...along with my sunflowers.....
Disease and insects have ravished my grapes and apples...
Other crops have also suffered.
Deer and rabbits eat all they can....
Another tree took out some tomatoes....
Unpredictable weather temperatures claimed some more...

Growing food isn't easy....it's a constant struggle...each year my respect for those that had to do it hundreds of years ago increases...

It seems half of the stuff I plant dies....
Every year I plant trees......every year most die...
But, it's not about the ones that die....it's about the ones that live....
Storms have taken more than 30 trees so far this year....Reshaping my landscape....

It's frustrating, but I am not without my successes...
Garlic and onions came in fantastic....and tomatoes look to be a bumper crop.

Every year gardening is an unexpected trail and delight..

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Clyde,

Pummeled is when you get repeatedly struck.

Pommeled is when you're riding with a Western saddle and you bounce forward smacking your gonads on the pommel of the saddle.

WAIT..., never mind..., from what you describe my friend, pommeled works well too.

Sincerely sorry for your tribulations. I'll pray you get something of a harvest this year.

LD

 

[coloradoclyde]

Pummeled

...... :haha:

 

[omarick1948]

Clyde, I guess that's why so many of us take on the chore of gardening and enjoying and remembering those good abundant crop years! It's been a weird long wet Spring in these parts, and now we have burning-up heat (100F yesterday) on the "Fruited Plains", but I will be back at it in the garden just the same. This year and hopefully for years to come.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

We had an early spring and for once I got a good pea crop. Then we hit the 100s. A bunch. Most of my summer plants are stunted I hope I can get a fall crop.

 

[BullRunBear]

"Every year gardening is an unexpected trail and delight."

This has been a strange year for gardening in northern Virginia. A very cool and wet spring delayed most crops although the salad greens and some herbs did fine. Lately it's been unusually hot and humid and when we get rain it is as severe storms. Too soon to tell what the tomatoes and squash will do. Just one of those years. (Too bad mosquitoes aren't a cash crop. We would be rich!)

No matter how the season ends, I know by Christmas we'll be making plans and looking forward to the seed catalogs. :thumbsup:

Jeff

 

[KingofDerby]

My problems have been from two main pest...
1 - Slugs
2 - Me!

 

[Vaino]

We have a lot of available garden land, but only planted a garden once w/ disastrous results. Besides, as my Gmother told my Dad, you're bent the wrong way and will never be a farmer. I'm also bent the wrong way and the back just won't take the punishment meted out by a garden.

For many years now my energetic neighbors plant gardens and many years harvest an over abundance of veggies which they give to me. Can't beat fresh veggies. Of course these "donations" don't go unrewarded....Fred

 

[NeilMacleod]

I find its gotten worse over the last four years weather wise. Deer have been the main problem for me, besides the record heat, just have to keep an eye on the water. Weeds love it lol.

 

[SgtErv]

I just started this year with a bunch of different stuff. Ive never hardened before except for when I was a kid. We're inundated with cucumbers and peppers, and soon tomatoes. However, my corn is basically stubble, and the cabbage hasn't grown a bit, I don't think. Next year will be better. There is a learning curve.

Nothing you can do about storms and trees besides ensure the dead ones are taken out before they take out others.

It's half frustrating and half delightful, and it requires a mountain of patience. Still, I'm thankful I have the land to do it so I will continue.

Better luck next year eh?

 

[coloradoclyde]

Most of my corn recovered....heavy rain gave tomatoes the blight...my early crop of potatoes was good...grapes were a total loss.... :shake: onions where the best I've ever had....
Already planning changes for next year..

 

[SgtErv]

A lot of my tomatoes got over watered, too. I was hauling buckets up the hill - needlessly it turns out. I'll get half of them at least, hopefully. Glad to have it confirmed that it was simply too much water

This one was done without any kind of fertilizer, so next year in planning on tranferring some topsoil from the adjacent woods. Maybe water less and have more nutrients next year.

Oh, my broccoli was incredible. Even though the cabbage butterflies ravaged them, we got a good harvest from each of the six plants

 

[dyemaker]

Right now I have eggplants. Made a compost pile of grass clippings etc. and save coffee grounds for nitrogen; banana peels, citrus peels, and potato peels for potash; bonemeal etc. for phosporus along with other things. There was a problem last year regarding my tomatoes with tobacco mosaic virus because I handle ryo tobacco alot. It is unclear if adding pokeweed leaves to the compost has helped. It is antiviral. That was my own idea.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I love good compost....mix in some rabbit or horse manure.... :thumbsup:

 

[nhmoose]

A lot of my tomatoes got over watered, too. I was hauling buckets up the hill - needlessly it turns out. I'll get half of them at least, hopefully. Glad to have it confirmed that it was simply too much water

This one was done without any kind of fertilizer, so next year in planning on tranferring some topsoil from the adjacent woods. Maybe water less and have more nutrients next year.

Oh, my broccoli was incredible. Even though the cabbage butterflies ravaged them, we got a good harvest from each of the six plants

Check the PH of the woods soil it will need lime IMHO

This is a bad garden year for me. To cold of spring and when the heat came it was to late and to cool at night. Glad We have enough veg to go for another year put away. I imagine in the past years our ancestors had the same problems.

It sure ain't global warming this year

 

[omarick1948]

It really HAS been a bad year for gardens here also! The tomato plants of mine grew to various heights and not near as full as they usually are in past years, but production was really good on the whole. My cucumbers never did recover from the wet Spring and are done for this season. Oh well.......next year!

 

[SgtErv]

Thanks for that nugget, NHMoose. I'm planning on doing this transfer in the fall then till it so it has all winter to leach into the soil, get it good and mixed up. Wouldnt be a hassle to throw in some lime, too.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Before you lime or wood ash any soil I strongly recommend a soil test....

I put wood ash on my garden once many years ago without testing the soil and really screwed it up...Most plants can tolerate acidity better than high PH.. Most actually like a slightly acidic soil....The biggest problem is that it is much easier to reduce acidity in soil than it is to reduce high ph.....

 

[NeilMacleod]

Been hit and miss. The Deer has been the main problem and the potato plants are half the size, five potato plants ripped up, skunks are suspect, the potatoes that have grown and rescued were delicious, best I've had in a very long time, last potatoes from the store went bad after two weeks.
My three rows of Spinach bolted to seed so didn't get anything due to high heat. Eggplants for some reason have remained dwarfed, about 8 inches high, the fruit are a couple inches and not growing any more. My peppers are nibbled on and a couple days ago the Deer ate my sweet ones. Sprinkled Chipotle all over my peppers and so far no more eaten.

 

[cynthialee]

this was my fallow year and I planted clover

and it is the best patch of clover I ever seen. I have clover flower stalks up to 3' high. The volunteer lettuce and parsley plants that showed up are huge. Now the raspberries which were planted last year got huge and made me a small amount of berries. The Strawberry beds of course were just left in place and I got 8 gallons of fresh berries this year. Normal years I pull 5 or 6. Got a large part of them fermenting into wine as we speak.

Wish I had grown a veggie crop this year, but it is the 7th year...so a fallow was in order.