Garden failed this year?

[EweSheep]

I will add some leaves in the garden this coming fall and make it nice and fluffy LOL!

 

[KenK]

Quote:
Best thing I ever did was downsize. I want to plant the whole world in the spring but have learned when the heat of summer comes on there is only so much I can tend. A little space well tended will make more than a huge one that gets away from you.

 

[Illia]

Some words that may solve all your weather issues -

Get a greenhouse

Best thing we ever did. We don't have heat issues like the rest of y'all (heat? What's that? Sun? It exists?) - However we honestly are going through a drought (weirdest thing to ever say out here) so, yes, the gardens are failing from lack of water out there, however as usual my greenhouse is doing excellent

 

[yinepu]

my garden started out nice.. swiss chard almost ready to pick.. tomatoes looking good.. peppers forming.. melons spreading out vines.. same with the cukes.. then the neighbors bull came over.. then the ducks had to go see what the bull found so interesting... then deer.. and more deer.. and more deer... and temps hit 110.. no rain.. and did I mention MORE deer?...

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Quote:
Well, we figured it cost us $300 to water it this year but we only harvested MAYBE $150 worth of produce. Bottom line: we cannot afford our garden anymore! Which saddens me, as I have always had gardens. But when you are on a fixed income, the bottom line really does count.

This year I replanted the corn 3 times and still did not pick a single ear. I planted 6 watermelon plants and harvested over 30 melons. So go figure! The cukes did good, not as prolific, but still enough to pickle. However, the green beans planted right next to them in the row never produced a single bean. But my tomatoes just went ape. I now have enough salsa to feed 2 families! Just a totally weird growing season. No cantaloupe at all, no peppers, no onions. Very frustrating.

We had BAD twisters in Alabama this spring, so I really wasn't expecting much from the fruit trees--and I didn't get anything. Wait, that's not accurate. I got gorgeous Bartlett pears for the very first time. I'd never ripened Bartletts before, so I read on the web to refrigerate them for 24 hours and then put them in a bag for a week to finish ripening. By the end of the week I had rotting pears. So no preserves at all this year, as in no applesauce or apple pie (we have 10 apple trees), no plum sauce (we have 2 plum trees), no peach cobbler or pie (we have 3 peach trees) even though they all still had to be watered.

So, as much as I enjoy the adventure of the garden, bottom line I can no longer afford to grow it. Water here is just way too expensive.


Rusty

 

[Two Creeks Farm]

We are on a well, no water bill but we do as little watering as possible. I think I will keep my eyes open for an old pump and tank and dig an area in the run off to hold some water as well as rain barrels. I figure on cutting the main garden in half as well and growing something as a border along what will be a fence to keep the goats out (them in). Probably sunflowers but open to ideas.

Checked soil this morning, 7.0 ph so I might need to add a bit of sulfur.

One 75 ft row of Maters is making a comeback after the deer hammered them. I pressed my luck and didnt cage them and the deer had a feast. Now caged and I should get enough to put more up before fall.

 

[mikensara]

ours did poorly last year this year we did a different spot and the garden flourished as did the weeds to we are currently getting green beans and cukes like no tomorrow and its more than we can keep up with. I think our flock is sick of green beans to i just did a 5 gallon pail full for the freezer and bought out the ends and they were like think we will pass lol

 

[Fred's Hens]

We market garden, organically, "for a living" so to speak. Thus, there can be no "failure" years. The excessive heat was perhaps tolerated and even enjoyed by the plants, but the almost total lack of rain throughout the summer was tough. Really tough. I irrigated day after relentless day. Have wells, but still. I got weary of the watering.

No complaints. When you plant almost 40 varieties of vegetables not every single thing is going to be a home run, but over all, it was a great, great year.

 

[MandyH]

The only thing that grew well in our garden was the okra but it didn't do nearly as well as it normally does. My stalks are usually 10 feet tall and they are about 4ft this time. Our tomatoes sucked this year too. Mine usually grow to the top of the house and they were stunted as well. Did the same thing, got tons of orange tomatoes then the vines started drying up and dying. Everybody around here that I know said their tomatoes didn't make this year so at least I know it wasn't me.

 

[sheaviance1]

We had a mediocre year, but, i didn't keep up with the watering as i should have in this drought. It started out great, and all of the early stuff did fantastic.