I know. It’s been a while since my last post and I missed this past week’s Misplaced Myths. I apologize. A lot’s been happening and there were unforeseen complications recovering from my recent surgery. Life happens, but I’m still here because I’m too far gone 😉
One of the things I wanted to use this blog for is to document my adventures as a wannabe homesteader. I say wannabe because I’ve barely gotten the garden together, after several years of trying. In my defense, my problems with keeping plants alive started only when I tried to over-do it and go too big at once. This year, I decided to start small.
We took down the fence last year and rebuilt it this year. It delayed putting the garden in, so I didn’t get my cools in this spring and worried I was too late with my warms. In the garden, I got some maters, okra, sweet peppers and a watermelon plant in. In the shady side at the back, I transferred collards and 2 types of lettuce. In the “corn/grain patch” on the other side of the barn, I planted heirloom corn and came back a couple weeks later and planted green beans with them and transplanted my yellow squash.
Fast forward, something like 1 or 1.5 month, and things are coming along nicely. The corn’s near shoulder-height (so glad I went with a 90 day heirloom and not the typical 120 day sweet corn!) and some yellow squash are forming. The maters are flowering, as is the watermelon plant, and the okra is gaining on the maters. The collards and lettuces are lively and growing.
Of the failures, it looks like the peppers may not have survived and the green beans don’t seem to have sprouted at all. I may have misjudged the peppers readiness for transplant, though, and the green bean seeds were from a couple years back. May be contributing factors…
The yields aren’t likely to be huge, since I only planted a small bit, so there won’t be any canning this year. I will probably be processing some to freeze, if it isn’t all eaten fresh. I may still try to put in some cools for a fall harvest before it’s too late. Been a while since I’ve had carrots I grew myself. May try for those and some beets, cabbage and what-not. I have seed onion, shallots and purple potatoes that I’ll give a go…I believe they can over-winter for a late spring harvest if planted and thickly mulched before the frost (but don’t quote me on that – I’m still a novice). I’m hopeful for a more cultivated green thumb and an ever-expanding garden as time goes on.
I wish I had a picture to post. Still gotta replace my worn-out digital cam. Maybe there will be a pic come harvest time.
If you’re gardening this year, how are your plants coming along? Leave a comment and let me know!
A Doe in the Foothills 