Garden experiment

[bcallaha]

While growing up our family lived out of the garden. If it didn't grow in our garden, we didn't eat it. Seriously, we didn't grow certain vegetables, so, for example, I didn't even know what brussel spouts, cauliflower, or brocolli was until I was a young adult!! Needless to say, when I grew up and got on my own, I didn't want anything to do with a garden.

Well, we all grow up, and remember the "good 'ol days", so this year I put in a small garden. I grew corn, tomatoes, straight neck squash, zuchinni, green beans, and peppers......all things from our garden while I was growing up.

Both of my parents are gone now, but my garden this year brought back some good memories......and good food. We gave away lots, and froze 25 bags of corn for this winter.

All year long I've been reading everyone's adventures in gardening on this website. I've enjoyed reading, and learning from others. My successful gardening experiment this year is in part due to all of the wonderful people on the website, and their advice to others.

I've included a couple of pictures of our garden. My wife is my model.....she's 5'8" so you can put the corn height into perspective.

Thanks for allowing me to relive some of my past, and learning from you.

Brad

 

[lesa]

How wonderful!! Your garden looks wonderful! I am so glad your first time back into gardening was such a great success! You'll be hooked now! Enjoy your bounty!

 

[Greensage45]

OMG!! You kicked some butt in that garden. That is outstanding!

You can tell the thumbs were green all along!

Thanks for sharing, and especially thanks for finally coming on board. I think you might have some tips for us as well. :watering

Can you tell us what you did to your spot? Do you have a source of manures and such?

Anyways,

You did a great job!

Ron

 

[obsessed]

Your garden looks great. Beautiful deep green color. What are you doing for your soil and fertiliztion. Got any good secrects you can share.

 

[injunjoe]

Very nice garden.

"Both of my parents are gone now, but my garden this year brought back some good memories......and good food."

So sorry they have past, but the thoughts that your garden bring to you is great.

Nice to have you on board.

Joe

 

[bcallaha]

Greensage45 and Obsessed, I really had to amend the soil. We have real hard clay here.....you know, the kind that is real soft and wet in the spring, and hard as a rock in the summer!! I had a neighbor who didn't think a garden would grow there.

The garden is about 30' X 30'. I put on 10 cu yds of compost that I purchased from a local garden store. It was used mulch that they used a couple of years ago, and piled it to the side and let it sit. That was almost a 3" covering over the entire garden. I worked it in real good and deep. I also fertilized with a 10-10-10 fertilizer when planing, and a couple of times as the plants grew.

Everything did well except the tomatoes. I had lots of them, but they were smaller than I expected. I talked to others in the area, and they had similar problems. Our weather was kinda goofy this year.....cooler and wetter than normal. Don't know if that what caused it, or not.

Thanks for the encouragement and kind words. I'll definitely be gardening next year. Probably expand the garden some, too. I just may put out some brocolli and brussel sprouts!!

Brad

 

[injunjoe]

So sorry I did not mean to insult you!

 

[digitS']

My parents did very little gardening. Dad essentially waited until after he retired to start and never really wanted to have too large a garden. Mom would plant things but didn't like the "gardening" part and, even tho' we lived on a farm thru many of the years, she finally wound it down to a favorite - just melons.

Tending the family garden, was mostly an assigned chore. It wasn't much fun for me - always seemed to be standing under a blazing sun, holding a hoe with no apparent end in sight to the weeds. To this day, I don't like to garden with a hoe!

I kind of decided somewhere in my teens that if I was going to have a garden to enjoy, I was the one who would need to take charge of it.

Your wonderfully green garden and the obvious appreciation of your DW must be an inspiration to you, Brad. I gotta say, nothing succeeds like success. Your upbringing may have prepared you but that garden is your accomplishment.

Congratulations and have fun with it in the coming seasons. Try to find those parts of gardening that have special meaning even if it just for you. Nothing wrong with being just a little selfish when it comes to growing something to eat. It is my understanding that people need to eat every day . . .

Steve

 

[obsessed]

Awesome so it is the importance of compost and fertilizer. I barely figured out that compost was not enough..

 

[bcallaha]

injunjoe, you didn't offend me.....I'm sorry if I said anything that made you think that.

Brad