Tuesday, August 18, 2009

My Vegetable Garden Has Had a Difficult Time This Summer

Seriously, my vegetable garden has struggled. Between the great aphid infestation that killed my seedlings, to differences in ideologies between myself (as head gardener) and my assistant (Charming) leading to conflicting styles of nurturing, to the weird weather we're having (a little consistent sun would be nice!), it seems more like The Little Engine that Could (I think I can bloom! I think I can bloom!) rather than a garden. We've dealt with Blossom End Rot (calcium deficient soil), failure to thrive (pollination issues?), and generally nutrient poor soil in one area of the garden. Having said all that, Charming and I have gotten on the same page, the vitamins have been administered and Mr. Sun is finally showing his beautiful face this week, so maybe, just maybe, I'll get a few more of these!


The zucchini is that rich dark green I love to see and those tomatoes are gorgeous! This, people, is why we do this year after year...eating the fruits of your labors is so cool! (I have to admit that I've been pretty envious of LoveAphid's bounty thus far...feeling like a total slacker as she enjoys salads and such from her own garden, while I hoped and prayed for a zucchini to make it to maturation.)

These, combined with the generous donation of a bunch of ripe tomatoes from a neighbor who hasn't struggled quite the way I have, meant fresh Capellini Pomodoro last night! (And this time, we had a lot of tomatoes and plenty of zucchini!)

5 comments:

Clark said...

Well, I will be the first to weigh in here....we have had a rough year starting with the aphid infestation and numerous other calamities. Through it all I feel that we have learned a lot. Next year we will put all that we have learned towards our greenhouse and garden.

Tracy said...

Our garden hasn't been great either. I love your new design!

Andrea said...

Everything is frying here in va. NO RAIN! Blessings, andrea

Collette@Jesuslovesmums said...

they look yummy!
Collette x

Unknown said...

I've been lucky with some of the things I've planted, but I still haven't seen a zucchini and only some of the tomatoes seem to want to ripen. I've learned a few things as well, not to overcrowd. Make sure the soil is balanced and fertilizer is a must. I didn't even see real growth until we put down the fertilizer. I was certain I was going to lose it all, Fig to the rescue with Miracle Grow.

I must admit that the salads that are completely from our garden seem to just taste better. (its most likely in my head though)

Here's to next year when we put into practice the things we learned the hard way!