First Post

As I recall, I've been around gardening all my life. My mom planted in a community garden before they were popular. We lived at the headquarters to New Tribes Mission in Woodworth, Wisconsin and there was a big garden on a hill. Each family got to use several rows for their personal use. I don't remember much except we were closer to the bottom of the hill than the top. My mom canned our produce and we ate from that all winter long. There was no fresh produce in the winter; we ate sweet pickles and other preserved foods instead.
I remember bringing home pig manure from my boyfriends farm when I was about seventeen for the garden. Then my folks had a big garden when I was 19 where my dad tried out ideas from Mother Earth News and Organic Gardening.

When I was 21 and pregnant with my son, I would sit on the ground and pull weeds in my own first garden. When my son was two and I was a single mom I went back to college and got an Associate of Arts degree in Ornamental Horticulture. That was really just a preview of the wide world of OH and really didn't teach enough for a specific career. I've learned more about gardening from experience than books or school. Now I'm almost 52 and I've still got a lot to learn 'cause I still make lots of mistakes.

I always say I should have been a farmer's wife, but I live in town with a big back yard and a wonderful husband who pretty much lets me do what I want. When I need help with manual labor or someone to water, he's always willing.

Last year, I only grew tomatoes and peppers for salsa, relishes, etc. Year before I grew tomatoes, peppers, and beets. This year I decided to go all out and plant a wider variety. I planted carrots, green onions, squash, swiss chard, pole green beans, beets, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, new zealand spinach, sweet corn, herbs, sunflowers (for the bees and birds), and honeydew melon. The garden expanded to a new area of the yard for the corn.

Now I remember why I only grew tomatoes and peppers. The APHIDS FROM HELL!!! Sounds like a B-rated movie. The aphids have munched on the okra, the melons, the cucumbers, the squash and even the corn. I harvested the corn, green beans, cucumbers and squash and then when the plants just couldn't take any more, I pulled them up and threw them on the compost heap. I incorporated some companion planting, but will do more next time.

For once I'm trying to get a fall/winter garden in on time. I planted leeks, carrots, green bunching onions and beets on Saturday and then I covered them with boards to keep the moisture in and the dogs out. (I have two dogs, one big and one little, who think they have to inspect my work and tromp all over it. Then they shit on it.) I was reading a newletter today about growing your own onion sets and I find out from my seed man, Farmer John of the Sustainable Seed Co., that onions need sunlight to germinate so I have to uncover the onions and leeks. Hopefully the dogs won't do too much damage tonight. On second thought, maybe I'll wait and uncover in the morning when the sun is up.

Before: fence ran east & west
to enclose original garden.

Later the same day: I told my husband, David about uncovering the onions. I mentioned how it would be nice to put a fence across from the original garden to the chicken coop. This would completely divide the back yard in half. I thought I was just planting an idea, but he promptly moved the gate and about 9 feet of fence to successfully keep the dogs from the entire garden. I'll even be able to allow my chickens out to do some free range bug hunting. My husband is such a support. His reward? He gets to eat whatever I grow.

After: fence runs north and south.