Thursday, April 14, 2011

Garden Plans

  I love to garden. I have a set of raised beds (the soil here is nasty, so raised beds help a lot) inside of a deer-proof fence that is my garden. Each year I plant the plants I love to eat plus a few new choices to try out. I love puttering around in there, picking fresh produce and enjoying the outdoors.

  Unfortunately, the last two years we have suffered a severe drought and extreme heat which is not good for a garden. As much as I have tried to nurture the plants, most of them have failed to produce. I have gotten very few tomatoes, four servings of green beans that were tough and sunburned, no watermelon, no citrus, no peaches, no peas, no onions, no peppers. I did get a lot of cucumbers last year, but that has been the only harvest I have gotten.

  this year we are still in a severe drought, maybe even worse than years past. The temps are already higher than those the last two years. The cost of plants/seeds, fertilizer and water, water, water, far out-weight the produce i have been able to harvest. So this year, my garden will lie fallow. No plants, no green sprouts, no produce. Instead, I will use the money I am saving to visit the farmer's market. I will miss the joy I get from the garden, but not the anguish over the fight to keep the plants form burning up.

This weekend is supposed to hit triple digits here. I may not miss my garden that much if it stays this hot.

4 comments:

Reba said...

Did you make your raised beds or buy them? We are talking about doing a little garden, though we don't have much room. But we know NOTHING.

Dawn said...

TRIPLE DIGITS?!?!?!? yikes!!!!

I hear you about the garden. Besides walking, it's my other "free therapy". Unfortunately the last 2 years my garden has grown more weeds than plants. I'm still debating if it's worth it or not this year. :/ The good thing is, I have a bit to decide since there's still a chance of SNOW here today! YUCK!! Lol!! :)

Elle said...

We have the exact opposite problem here. Our Spring has been unusually cold and wet. Usually by this time of year I'm picking giant salads, but right now my lettuce sprouts are just that.

One thing that helps my garden (besides that whole horticulture degree thing) is a book I bought about 2 years ago. It's called Vegetable Gardening West of The Cascades. Not that that particular book will help you, but the point is the book is written specifically for the maritime pacific northwest. I'm betting there is a book specific to your area of Texas. We all need as much help as we can get.

Deb said...

Triple digits!!!!!! And I was complaining about out our odd day last Sunday of 85. Today we are back to 53 and tonight it will be 36. Come visit, I need some new beds created and you can help and the boys can play. And you can cool down.
farmers markets are lots of fun, though.
Love and hugs,
Deb