garden fantasy: smashed!

well, my vegetable garden in the field is becoming a worse failure than last year's epic one, and here is the pepper pic to prove it. i dont even know what happened to them, but the deer have neatly trimmed all tomato foliage and fruit above the cages...and the corn too is nibbled down low...the onions have disappeared...i saw the bugs that ate the cantaloupe and pumpkin vines...the sweet potatoes melted...this field sucks! i used weed barriers everywhere, but no poisons. ugh! i have seedlings ready to go in, but i am rethinking it. i hate giving in, but i might have too. the sad part is i would starve if i were dependent on this garden for actual food! luckily, my square foot garden, raised beds and planter boxes seem to be doing well: onion, arugula, flat leaf parsley and mixed greens are producing well...i collected squash blossoms the other day and a couple of yellow crooknecks today...the first yellow pear mini tomatoes are ready and the larger varieties are growing (no color yet, though). i have yellow beans! and basil! so, that is sort of a happy ending, right?

men at work

i never see women at my vegetable garden plot: not sure why, but it's true. maybe they know something. today all the mens worked the field. not hard enough though: i'm calling in the farmer for a deep plow, otherwise these weeds will be taking over in a few days.

my vegetable garden

i am determined to grow all of my fruits and vegetables! ok: that's a bit lofty: i am trying to grow some of my fruits and vegetables. this is the third year working my plot in virginia. the first year, i staked out 50 feet by 50 feet of sandy loam, put a strawberry pyramid in the center and central paths forming a cross with a round about the strawberries. i lined the paths with a thick mulch of loblolly pine needles. i plotted out on paper my plan and inserted all of the seedlings. the first potatoes were fantastic! then we got 11" of rain that drowned my pink and blue popcorn. the deer ate my tomato and pepper plants. i was away for a couple of weekends, and the weeds took over the strawberries: i never found them! so i abandoned it. last year, i started potatoes on valentine's day, followed up with seedlings later and the farmer came and plowed everything under, including the strawberry pyramid. so, i abandoned it. this year will be different though: i can tell! i started seeds early. we bought a walk behind tiller to help with the weeds; there are still a lot, though! i have walking onions, leeks and sweet onions. the tomatoes havent been touched by the deer yet. the potatoes had a lot of bugs, but i smacked them off and they werent around this week. the mustard is still kicking. the cabbages are growing, but i am not really sure how they are supposed to look. the swiss chard looks amazing! my moon and stars watermelon looks a bit anemic, but is still alive! some of the sweet potatoes dried up, but most are sprouting. the arugula and italian parsley have past: i need to replant them. the radishes (which were delicious) went to seed: i am going to save it for next year. the carrots didnt make it.