Our Little Garden

As I’m reading blogs and watching videos, I see people who are trying (or so they say) to raise 80% of their food. I guess at best, for us that would mean 80% of our veggies because, according to Vince, we are never getting chickens. If we got a cow (we are not), she would be a pet so forget food. But then I look at our garden and I think . . we’d starve trying to live off our garden but I have fun and that has to count for something, right.

My gardening has become more of a “don’t count your chickens before they hatch” exercise because there seems to always be a late freeze or some starving swarm of bugs that comes in and ruins things. Even if the garden doesn’t make as much as I hope it produces, it’s fun and I love every minute of it.

I planted half the potatoes here and half in another area, trying to trick the potato beetles.

I have other grow bags that have sweet potatoes, Thelma Sanders squash, ginger, candy roaster squash, a variety of peppers, cabbage and zucchini. I still have empty bags so I may end up planting other things.

This is the asparagus bed. There should be 12 rhubarb plants emerge from their long winter’s nap. They’re all on the right half of this 4 x 8 bed. On the left side, on this end will be cucumbers, which are already planted (seeds). On the far end will be luffa. At the far end, you see the garlic bed. I’m hoping the garlic will be ready to come out about the time the okra is ready to be planted.

There’s a tall wire panel on one long side of the rhubarb bed. The cucumbers and luffa will share the trellis. I have 7 bags of cabbage. I positioned three bags so they can share the trellis and I planted more candy roasters in the bag with the squash. I figure the squash will be harvested by the time the candy roasters are growing too big. I’ve always grown candy roasters so they run all over the ground but I want to see if they will grow well on a trellis.

I planted six little pots of luffa seeds. So far, five have germinated and are growing nicely. One just sprouted through the soil early this week so there’s still hope for the sixth one. I had hoped for four so even if only five grow, that’s great.

I prefer the Egyptian Walking Onions to regular chives. They are so fun to grow. Last fall I divided some of mine and shared with a couple of friends. This fall, I’m going to fill in some of the bare spots but will probably still have some to share. I’ve been using the “green onion” parts of them through the entire winter except when we would have a very hard freeze and they would die back but as soon as it gets a little warmer, they sprout new green tops.

The asparagus are starting to emerge. We’re always so excited to get enough for that first side dish of steamed or sauteed asparagus but before long, we’re both thinking . . will the asparagus ever end. I do freeze dry some. This year I’m going to try pickling some. I have never had good luck with that but I’d like to have a way to enjoy it when it isn’t in season.

There are tomatoes that I’ve started and I’ll probably have to buy some. This tray is all San Marzano tomatoes. I have another tray of 16 that is 4 rows of 4 different tomatoes.

This lettuce is so pretty. I wish I could keep lettuce growing all summer. I’m going to keep this in pots and put it under the porch with the fan going on the hot days and see if I can keep it growing at least through June.

I’m sure I’m missing something but that’s about all I think.