I think it’s possible that this gardening season may be the most disappointing of my life. The season started off quite promising. We put in a profound effort in the beginning of the year expanding and adding in new beds and revitalizing old ones.
We got everything set up and planted at just the right time and it was looking like our harvest was going to far exceed that of any previous year.
Then came not one, but two late frosts. The first killed the blossoms on the plum trees, the second the peach. There will be no stone fruit this year. The cherry trees managed to produce all of two cherries, which is a miracle in and of itself when you consider the magnitude of their black aphid infestation. As it turns out, our new raspberry patch was planted just wee bit too close to the vent for the dryer at the old house. That went not well. Live and learn. We did get some nice strawberries, but otherwise the home-grown fruit harvest is looking pretty sad.
Then there was the rain. Oh the rain! All of June it rained. It was much cooler then usual and the sun failed to show it’s pretty face for weeks at a time. The tomatoes, peppers and basil all began to look sickly and stunted.
Still our gardens at home are looking better then our crops at the community garden. Last year we heard lots of complaints from our fellow gardeners about plants being eaten. Our twin plots (some of the furthest from the woods) remained happily unscathed. All of a sudden this year, fences started springing up everywhere. And it seems that our “out of the way” garden suddenly became a lot more appealing. All of the squash starts that we so painstakingly nurtured on windowsills through the late winter and early spring, gone. All of the beans, corn, sunflowers, and kale, gone. All of our brussel sprouts and all of the brussel sprouts that we replaced those with gone. An entire 15′ x 20′ plot leveled and a good portion of the adjoining plot as well. We still have some eggplant and a couple of rows of tomatoes (all looking as pallid and puny as their home bound brethren), harvesting a bit from them is the most we can hope for.
Oh, there will be a fence next year. There will.
At least we still have flowers.
Then came not one, but two late frosts. The first killed the blossoms on the plum trees, the second the peach. There will be no stone fruit this year. The cherry trees managed to produce all of two cherries, which is a miracle in and of itself when you consider the magnitude of their black aphid infestation. As it turns out, our new raspberry patch was planted just wee bit too close to the vent for the dryer at the old house. That went not well. Live and learn. We did get some nice strawberries, but otherwise the home-grown fruit harvest is looking pretty sad.Then there was the rain. Oh the rain! All of June it rained. It was much cooler then usual and the sun failed to show it’s pretty face for weeks at a time. The tomatoes, peppers and basil all began to look sickly and stunted.Still our gardens at home are looking better then our crops at the community garden. Last year we heard lots of complaints from our fellow gardeners about plants being eaten. Our twin plots (some of the furthest from the woods) remained happily unscathed. All of a sudden this year, fences started springing up everywhere. And it seems that our “out of the way” garden suddenly became a lot more appealing. All of the squash starts that we so painstakingly nurtured on windowsills through the late winter and early spring, gone. All of the beans, corn, sunflowers, and kale, gone. All of our brussel sprouts and all of the brussel sprouts that we replaced those with gone. An entire 15′ x 20′ plot leveled and a good portion of the adjoining plot as well. We still have some eggplant and a couple of rows of tomatoes (all looking as pallid and puny as their home bound brethren), harvesting a bit from them is the most we can hope for.Oh, there will be a fence next year. There will.At least we still have flowers.
Oh no!
We are having the same problem with our gardens here in Vermont. We are having issues with weather, and animals eating the plants. We have a whole new plan for next year to keep out the animals, but meanwhile- we are extremely disappointed in the great loss!
It always helps to look on the bright side doesn't it?
At least, of course, the wildlife is getting enough to eat! How does rabbit stew sound? lol
The rain really did a lot of people in this year. I am so sorry to hear about the raspberries…
The yellow roses are so beautiful. Better weather is coming! The rain here has ruined a good deal of my tomatoes, but I'm holding out hope.