For those of us who believe in God or any higher power, sometimes we have to stop, brush away the tears and frustration and know there’s a reason that we may never understand but accept that it’s all part of a plan that we also do not understand.
That’s where I am with my garden. It’s a bust this year. We so desperately needed rain but I don’t think anyone hoped it would rain every day for a month. As frustrated as I am with the garden, I remind myself that there are folks not very far from me who lost their lives, their homes, or most of their belongings to the flooding. In that light, losing most of my garden is nothing. I am reminded that not too very long ago, in my grandparents’ days, a failed garden meant a lean and hungry year for the family. I am thankful that (1) I can afford to go to the grocery store and buy food and (2) food is readily available in our grocery stores.
It’s a hard reminder that no matter how much we plan and work, some things are just out of our control.
Yesterday I pulled out a bunch of the potatoes that had rotted, and most of the sugar crunch peas. The green tomatoes have mostly rotted on the vines so I pulled them off and I’ll see if the tomatoes bloom again or if their roots may be rotten too.
I think I can replant okra, maybe some warm weather peas. Normally, I wouldn’t expect a frost here til after November 10 but this year has been so crazy. We were late getting the garden planted because we kept having ice so late. Once the ice melted, we had rain and it was too wet to get in there and work. I guess a wiser gardener would have figured out that this was going to be a bad year!
So, I’ll trust that we’ll have a normal first frost date and plants that can take the heat, like okra and peas, I should have 5 months left to grow them so . . we start over.
Corn
A few positives – the corn looks good. The squash is producing like crazy. The cucumbers don’t seem to be suffering but I’m not sure if too much water will affect the quality, which may mean pickles won’t be good.
The garlic is almost ready to harvest but I’m getting it’s all going to be a soggy mess when I start pulling it up.
The good news is . . there’s always next year!
Katie Z. says
We are facing a similar reality with our garden, which we take to farmer’s market, this year. Although Kansas hasn’t had as much rain as Texas, the mud is so bad we have to move our chicken tractors by hand because the tractor destroys the too-wet grass. I keep reminding myself that the rain is needed to replenish the soil moisture down deep and the reservoirs are still too low. It’s still discouraging!
JudyL says
Yes, we sometimes have to look hard to find the good and not focus on the bad. It is discouraging.
Teresa says
I had a bad garden year last year and as all gardeners are, I am ever hopeful for this year (we are still in the small seedling phase here in Minnesota). I have changed some things up to improve my odds, but as you are, I am resigned to whatever the weather brings. We flooded out last year and never had the heat needed to get tomatoes going well. It is a gorgeous day and I am just home after 5 days away. I am itching to get into the garden today. Maybe we should think of the process, rather than the goal. Sure, it is nice to get yummy produce, but really, we enjoy being out there, so we can celebrate that.
JudyL says
You’re so right. I’ll be out there planting okra as soon as this storm passes. I think I’ll plant lima beans too. I never have great luck with those but . . you never know!
Joan B. says
Time to redirect Vince to finishing that greenhouse so you can play into the fall and winter! (Sorry Vince!)
Judy Laquidara says
It’s finished! The water isn’t hooked up inside yet and he needs to decide what kind of shelving he wants. He’s going to use part of it for hydroponics but I have my lemon trees in there now.
Dianne says
Sorry to hear you are having trouble with the garden this year. It will be interesting to see how our garden does this year too. We just put out the plants I had the greenhouse over the past 2 weeks. I am hearing it will be a cool summer, we will see and see what we will have that will do good. Time will tell.. Need more pea seeds?
Joyce says
It’s frustrating to have a bad garden year, but you’re right, you do have grocery stores, etc. I’m sure you’ll be extra happy about all the things you do get from the garden. (artichokes…) I had a couple bad tomato years in a row, so I understand the frustration. I just keep trying year after year… I’m guessing you can replant the okra and still get some. I’ve had to do that before too. You may not get much, but you’ll appreciate what you do get even more! Good luck!
Judy Laquidara says
Okra will do fine. I’m planting it where I have a water line and it loves the heat and will produce right up til the first heavy frost.
Theresa says
I’m hoping that your garden still has time to recover with the new plantings. It is hard to see a lot of work get washed away, but you sure have the right perspective on this.
Our son lives in Houston, they closed the schools yesterday because of the rain. The flash flooding went about halfway up his mailbox post yesterday morning before receding.
Judy Laquidara says
We got out of Houston just in time. If mom had not been released earlier than expected, we would have been right in the middle of the flooding.
Jean says
It’s been wet and cold and now too wet for tiller guy to get my garden ready. I need the fresh veggies for my restricted diet, and like to raise them myself as they taste far better than store bought. Asparagus has done well. Farmers face the weather all the time, and now with the bird flu you’ll be paying higher prices for eggs.
Judy Laquidara says
I’m pretty sure I won’t be paying a higher price for eggs . . unless my chickens get bird flu!
Susan says
So sorry to hear about your garden. When my DH and I were first married and lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, we had horrid rains one year and every day it seemed the temperature never got above 42°. I went out in flip flops and squished through the mud to pull lots of grass out in desperation. We replanted and thanks to a longer growing season there as compared to where we live now, we had a small but lush garden that year. We also had lots of wildflowers that year that we didn’t normally enjoy. Hope you can get something no matter how small from your garden. Enjoy the okra for me as our growing season is too short to grow as much as I would like.
Judy Laquidara says
The wild flowers have been amazing this year. They just don’t stop. And . . mushrooms! We’ve never seen mushrooms here and they’re everywhere now. No . . before someone asks . . unless I know they’re safe, I don’t eat wild mushrooms.
The downside is . . we’ve never seen mosquitoes much here and they’re about to carry us off.
Sherrill says
Yep, many things have happened in my life that I continue to try to understand why. Guess I’ll never know most of it while still on this earth. I suppose when we’re experiencing the good, we need to remind ourselves to be grateful as it won’t always be good even though we wish it could be. Hoping your second garden is bombastically bountiful!!
Helen says
On the bright side, you’ll have plenty of time to quilt!
Donna Williams says
So sorry, I can empathize. For a few years, I kept on hoping, then I downsized to tomatoes in pots. We have a deer and squirrel issue here and those guys eat anything and everything. This year I have returned to work, and wouldn’t you know it, just at year end, which is apparently a whole new level of Hades nobody mentioned before I took the job. In short, there’s not so much as a potted tomato plant out there yet this year. I say yet, because, well, gardeners never give up!
Ranch Wife says
Its completely understandable that you would be frustrated – you put so much time and and energy into your garden. Gardening is always a gamble here…I guess it is everywhere. Its a good reminder that we’re not the ones in control. So we dust ourselves off…or in the case of a soggy year, dry ourselves out, and give it another shot.
Hope y’all are drying out and that you’ll soon be harvesting the things you plant the second time around.
Rebecca in SoCal says
What a shame to lose all the hard work you have put into the garden! I’m sorry about my flip remark on your sprouts post. I am curious about the cucumbers. Although they’re mostly water anyway, will this much make them soft?
On the other hand, I was reading today about growing herbs in pots. I thought that might be a small-scale effort I could make, until I read they need watering every day! I just can’t do that with our drought.