My adventures in gardening

Three years ago, the year we bought Prince William, I realized a dream of mine, I planted a garden. I used to help my Grandma garden when I was living in NY and seriously pined to toil with my own soil. The first year wasn't a great success but I managed to get produce from almost every type of plant I planted. Plus I started from seeds so I should get some street cred for that. The second year was pitiful and I only got cucumbers out of all the plants I planted. However I got so many cucumbers that year that I had to try out a new domestic practice and can them. I hope to share a post about that this year too. 

This is my third year planting a garden and I thought I'd screwed up before I even started. I didn't get my seeds in the ground until the end of May! Summers in North Carolina are unforgiving and I thought I'd lost my window. My one and only redeeming act was that I had started about 12 tomato plants indoors about 6 weeks ago. 

So last Saturday I borrowed our neighbors front tine tiller and decimated the weed colony that had taken over my little garden plot. To my surprise I stirred up rich brown (BROWN!!) soil. Why is this surprising? In North Carolina (and especially the last two years in my garden plot) there is nothing but orange, plant sucking, clay. But this soil was was fine. It was loose. It was glorious. Yep - I just described dirt as glorious. Plant a garden in clay, then you'll understand. 

After making a few passes with the tiller and mounding my soil, I planted my wee little tomato plants and my itty bitty seeds. This year my garden consists of Tomatoes (Roma and Early Bird variety), Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Garden Beans, Lettuce and of course my shining stars, Cucumbers. I also tossed a couple Pumpkin seeds in a couple haphazard mounds of dirt in a separate location. We'll see if I finally grow myself a Jack-o-lantern this year. 

Then it monsooned and I was certain all my seeds were washed away. 

I didn't expect much considering the lateness of my sowing and the monsoon on Sunday/Monday. But to my surprise, come Tuesday my lettuce and cucumbers were breaking the soil to reach sunlight and my weak little tomato sprouts were toughening up! 

Yesterday I took the first photos of my 3rd garden. 

My fence within a fence:

Zucchini or Yellow Squash:

Early Bird Tomatoes:

If I were Jack, these would be my bean stalks:

My best producers, Cucumbers: 

Itty bitty lettuce:

Slimey devil who eats my plant's leaves:

Right after I planted this garden I crumbled up a couple 4 leaf clovers that I'd found and sprinkled them on the garden. I hope that brings me a good harvest. 

That's about it for now. I'm sure I'll do other awesomely domesticated activities this weekend and maybe I'll be able to post about it. 

Thanks for reading!

-Liz