2011 Veggie Garden - Lessons Learned

First, let's look back at the pictures, shall we?  Even though it will make me miss summer.

Lil naked baby garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sprouts, and the WORST pea trellis ever

Holy abundance, Batman!

And what it looks like as of this morning ....

  Super sad face.  Remember when I blithely said I wasn't planning where everything would go?  Dumb!  At least estimating the space needed around plants is verrrry important for good air circulation around the plant, which helps fend off fungal diseases and pests.  Did you know most pests and diseases need wet foliage to be able to penetrate the pant's structure?  So if some dummy (me) plants all her tomato plants with maybe 5 inches of space around them each, she (me again) will end up with tomatoes that will get wasted.  

  Also, in order to maintain a biologically diverse (and therefore more stable) soil, you need to rotate what goes where from year to year.  Great resource for this here.  If you are planning an organic garden (please, please do) this is so important, since it will negate chemical fertilizers and pest control.  

 A few more discoveries from this year :
* Pea trellises need to be bigger and stronger than you think
* IMO, the absolute BEST soil mixture for growing a culinary and herb garden is half composted mushroom soil, half organic garden soil.
* Compost, compost, compost.  Apply to the roots of your plants once a month.
* If you use the above soil preparation, and you're growing tomatoes - don't even mess with tomato cages.  You need to build big ass supports around those suckers.  Mine were over 5 feet tall by the end of the season and loaded with fruit.
* If you plant only one edible - plant lettuce!  It is so easy to grow, so easy to maintain, and it tastes so much better than what you get at the store.
* Stock up BEFORE growing season on canning and freezing supplies.  Research recipes for your produce in the off season so you're ready.
* Get a hay bale for harvest decorations, then stash it away until spring.  After you have planted your seeds and everything sprouts, spread hay around the seedlings.  It holds in moisture so you don't have to water so much and suppresses weeds.
* You need a rain barrel.  If you already have one, you need another one. :-)

And also ... growing season doesn't have to stop in the fall.

 
This is broccoli and kale that are loving the cooler weather.  I also have two cabbage plants that came up and are thriving (none of the ones planted at the beginning of the season survived the cabbage worms)  Now to teach myself to make floating row covers ...
One last thing, Mrs. BC has an awesome new blog, Witch In The Suburbs,and guess who she interviewed for her Witchy Mum Interview?? ;-)If you don't follow Mrs. BC, she's hilarious and smart and her emails bring me joy because she says things like whinge and fortnight and other Australian awesomeness.  So go stalk her!







 

My First Award - Woot!

The fantastical Miss Colleen at Cheap Wine and Cookies hit me with an award!

 I am not going to promise to not get big-headed over this.
So lemme see if I can do this right:

•     Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post. You rock, Lawyer/Marine/Mommy/Wife Person!
  
•     Tell your readers seven (7) things about yourself.
•     Give this award to fifteen (15) recently discovered bloggers.
•     Contact those bloggers and let them in on the exciting news. 

1.) I am compulsively cheap.  I think this is why I don't enjoy clothes shopping like the rest of the female population - honestly I'd rather spend money at the farmer's market or Goodwill.  And yes, I buy clothes there - and get complimented all the time on the bohemian look.  :-)  It's also why I will probably never get a smart phone, I could think of lots of other ways to spend that money.  And it leads to me being fanatical about not wasting food or electricity.

2.) I have a bit of survivalist in me.  I remember reading Valley of The Horses by Jean Auel and being mesmerized about how this woman had to survive, and do so by her own wits.  With the state of the world being so crazy, being self-sufficient is very important to me.

3.) The first time I picked up a deck of tarot cards, it felt like I got an electric shock.  I randomly drew a card and it was the Queen of Cups.  I looked up the meaning and was thunderstruck - it fit me to a T.  To this day before I read the cards I sit and meditate with my hands covering the cards until I feel that hum of energy coming from them - and my readings are always insanely accurate.  Mooch now loves to play with the deck, and I had her draw cards the other day and she got a reading that was dead on.

4.) When I was living with an ex-boyfriend who was completely irresponsible (don't we all have one?)  he used to use my car and get a lot of parking tickets and never told me about them.  I found out via a scary letter telling me my license was about to be revoked.  I ran down to the court building to pay the fines, only to discover that I was $8 short on cash and they would not accept a check, they were closing in 15 minutes (and this was the last day to pay the fine) and for the love of all things holy I could not find an ATM.  Feeling panicky I ran into a little restaurant and went up to the man behind the counter and blurted out "If I write you a check for $8, will you cash it?   I know you don't know me (started crying here) but I'm desperate and the women in that building are evil and I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO."  The man behind the counter patted my hand, opened the till, and took out a $10 bill.  "Here honey, take it.  You would do the same for me."  Those words ran right through me.  Would I?  Would I have put myself out there for someone else?  The fact that this man was blindly believing that I was a good person and wasn't going to, I don't know, buy drugs; was so humbling.  I thanked him and he repeated it again "You would do the same for me."  That experience reminds me of the person I want to be, every day.

5.) When I was 5 months old, I almost died from intucesseption (sp?).  It's basically when your intestines get tangled and you can't release any waste.  I was bleeding out when it was discovered, and I was medi vacced to a hospital and operated on immediately.  I have a scar that goes completely across my stomach and created a permanent fat roll - but I could be dead, so I'll take it.

6.)  Running is spiritual to me - I run as much for the mental health benefits as the physical benefits.  And I had never liked running before I had Mooch - I started to lose weight and have never stopped.  One of my biggest fears is being injured and not being able to run again.

7.)   The Mister and I did all the "wrong" things when our relationship started - we went home together the first night we met, we basically never spent a night apart again, and we had said I love you within a month.  11 years and two babies later - take THAT, "Rules" ladies!

OK, tagging.  15 fucking people?  Ugh.  By the way, I like to swear when I'm not around my kids, I probably should have added that on.  
Anywho - I will tag

1.) Bumber's Bumblings
2.) Dear Goddess, Bless Me
3.) Green Witch With Sprinkles
4.) Dark Mother Goddess
5.) Mrs. BC's House of Chaos
6.)  Kally's Cauldron
7.) It's Not That Serious
8.) Sweet Bliss
9.) The Compost Bin
10.) Rue & Hyssop
11.) Return To Rural
12.) Olde Baggs n Stuft Shirts
13.) Pagan Culture
14.) Blissful Karma
15.) Goats In The Garden

Since I'm short on time, just be aware that I love all of these ladies and their posts make me laugh and think and all that good junk.  Have at it, ladies! :-)