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Gardening is harder than it looks!
Okay! So I said this would be the year that we would produce a REAL garden, see it through to the end, and really "put up the harvest". I spent all winter reading up and planning, ordering seeds, arranging and rearranging the garden plan. When February got here, I started my little mini garden in the back room under lights and faithfully tended it daily. Things were really looking good. Well this weather has really put a crimp in my gardening agenda! My family seems already tired of "mom's garden" and I just sat out there and cried as I tried to learn how to use the tiller. It started so well but nothing seems to be working out. I put my seedling-grown tomatoes in the wrong place...a flower bed that got too much rain with all that we've gotten here. I think they're dead. I put my corn out too early and it just rotted in the cool weather we've had. My potatoes I got out drowned, i guess, cause only a few came up. Today was the first time in the last 5 weeks that I could get something planted and that was not until after all day of sunshine, so we only had the afternoon to really do much. And it's gonna rain again tonight! And all the rest of the week! I know some folks need the rain, and I shouldn't complain, but gardening is really harder than it looks. I guess the weather is just tag-teaming with my learning curve and I'm starting to get really discouraged. I think I'm really much better at animals than raising plants. I can't imagine depending on my gardening skills at this point to feed us in a shtf lifestyle change.
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I think many people have the thought that if things get really bad then they will have a garden. But as you have said, it does take some time to learn the basics and then you have to factor in the weather which is different every year. With the weather, trying to balance the soil, the bugs, animals, plant diseases, etc... I always figure it is a miracle we get anything at all to eat!
Just keep after it, I believe the key is to not give up. Plant a little something every day, if something doesn't work, pull it and plant something else. I consider myself to be a pretty good gardener, but I still learn something new every year. |
Yeah - it's way harder than I ever thought it would be, but a lot more rewarding too. It's teaching me patience - and I'm the most impatient ADHD type person I know. Like Melissa said - a little something every day. Some works out, some doesn't, but you just keep going. No matter how much time you spend planning, you really don't know what you're going to end up harvesting at the end of the year. Every year, you learn more and it become a satisfying cycle . . . . except when it's frustrating and backbreaking . . . a satisfying frustrating backbreaking rewarding cycle!
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Yep. I keep telling myself that all my gardening failures are really "learning experiences." I need to learn what doesn't work, right? I'm doing a great job of that!
I'm glad my family isn't counting on the food I may or may not grow this year. I hope and expect that I will get better at this as I keep working on it. |
Take a deep breath. And another. It's going to be okay, you have time to replant corn, and tomatoes as well. Remember, you're learning as you go. You CAN do this! I understand about the rain, we've had a bunch dumped on us too. You'll do fine, really!
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Don't let it get you down, it isn't easy but you get better and better at it with practice.
Tomatoes are pretty tough and can tolerate replanting in a better area or in buckets, what every you have. I first I don't succeed then I reseed. Succession planting is really helpful when mother nature doesn't play nicely. Don't give up, you can do it. But do get someone else to till for you, it is very physically taxing. |
I agree..keep planting until something pulls through. Have you tried hardy seeds like squash, zuchinni and beans? Those are the ones that I "practice" with!
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Yep, don't give up. I'm 50 and have basically been raising gardens since I was 5 years old. Seems like it's only every once in a while that I have a garden to be proud of. I've struggled with "not having time due to employment", bad weather-too much rain, cold fronts, to heat droughts and no rain. It seems this year all of those plagues have hit me. In fact the last two years have been disapointing years for me. The weather pattern is just terrible. Gets up around 80 to 90 degrees for a few days and so you throw some seeds or plants in the ground and then we get hit with torential rains and cold weather. Even frosted just a few days ago and bit my tomato plants and melons. I started them from seeds inside and babied them, kept delaying transplanting them out to the garden due to all the rain. Then when I finally did transplant them, the night time temperatures dip down to the low 30's and lightly frosted. There coming out of it tho, but delayed them once again.
Only about 1/3 of my taters came up and only about half of my corn has come up so far. Usually by now my corn is about a foot tall. What few I've got just came out of the ground finally and is only about 3 inches tall. So I know your fustration and share your pain. I get mad at my family too as it seems I'm the only one who cares enough to do any work in the garden. My wife did help me the other day but only because I got mad and made the comment about t.v. shows being more important then saving money on groceries. She was sore the next day and has made excuses to avoid working in the garden again. |
No, gardening isn't easy. I have to replant a few things because birds got some of the seeds. I also have some pitiful cabbages in my garden that rabbits are getting to. Hang in there. You'll learn what works for you and what doesn't.
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It is so much harder than it looks! You can do it though (at least that's what I keep telling myself). :bouncy:
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Oh honey.
If I lived closer I would come and help you. Learning a new 'art' alone can be miserable. |
I appreciate the encouragement. I always tend to bite off more than I can chew. This year, feeling the pressure of the economic stormclouds, I decided I needed to learn to garden, learn to save seeds, learn to can, learn to dehydrate, and about 5-6 other very important new skills. I get this idealistic picture in my head of the big beautiful garden (think forerunners place) and imagine that it just takes planning, and hard work. Well maybe I'll forego saving seeds this year and just work on finding varieties that grow well here. Time just feels so short, ya know what I mean?
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Sometimes when things aren't going "well" I take the "easy" route and buy some plants that have already started as opposed to starting say tomatoes from seed again.
Last week I picked up a couple of flats of annuals to liven up the yard for only .88 a flat ~ my marigold seedlings didn't make it. Greenhouses (the portable 4 shelf kind) are great until you have that one New England hot day and forget to water & allow in some air... whoopsie.... Only Me |
Zuchini - easy???? Not here! About the time they start flowering they die on me.
Bourbonred, don't take it too hard. I lost my tumbling tomatoes after leaving them in the wind one day. I lost several broccoli and cauliflower plants due to a totally unexpected late freeze. The only things that have done well were the asparagus I planted a few years back and the kale in my raised bed. (I don't think anything can kill kale, haven't found anything that eats it except cabbage worms and me). |
Don't feel bad, I'm right there with you! I helped my grandma with her huge garden as a kid, and she always made it look so easy. For some people, it may actually come easily, but I swear I was born with a black thumb, lol. But I just keep plugging away, reading more, keeping notes on what worked and what didn't and trying again.
The very first time I tried to put in a "garden" (as opposed to my usual few tomato, pepper and okra plants), I did way too much and lost almost everything. It was just too much too soon! Since then I've backed off and just added a few new things each year. I am feeling a great sense of urgency to hurry it up, but I have health issues to deal with too and know I'm doing the best I can, so I try to be patient, but it's HARD! :hair Hang in there, you're definitely not alone! :) |
I'm so sad for those of you who have been having a bad time of it. I was raised in a gardening family. I guess my garden learning came about the same as my learning to walk & talk. The ability to plant and harvest has been with me since before I can remember. Don't misunderstand, I still have failures, but that comes with the territory. There are years when everything goes wrong, either too wet or too dry, (or the goats jump the fence.) But if you keep at it, you WILL get food to grow.
Be sure that you don't "love your garden to death". I used to do that with house plants. I would check them several times a day. Water them too much. Pinch them too much. And generally, "love them to death". Have any of you tried winter sowing? The seeds know when to come up. If you do a search on the words "winter sowing", you'll get several hits. It's kind of along the same lines as wild plants reseeding themselves. ETA: Keep an eye on the weather. If you have a late freeze come after things are growing, cover them with newspaper, or some old sheets/blankets/curtains/whatever. If you miss the weather report and they get a sheet of ice on them, go out BEFORE sunrise and spray them with a water hose. Spray until you melt the ice off them. As long as you get the ice off before the sun hits them, chances are they will survive with little if any damage (this works with fruit trees too.) |
It's learning how to deal with the failures that makes a good gardener.
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Anything else, no problem. Seriously though. To the OP - Don't beat yourself up. Just have a good cry, dust yourself off, and try again. We have all been there. Nikki |
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The thing about gardening is...you can only do your part, mother nature has to do her's and if she don't feel like it, then it doesn't happen! Two summers ago it rained almost every day through the summer here and 'professional' farmers lost whole crops, so don't feel bad. BTW, an old farmer who turned into a 'organic farmer' told me that to make up for not using sprays he just plants 30 different things, and if some fail, he still gets something. Thats the old 'shotgun' approach...if you throw enough manure against the wall some of it is bound to stick! |
Gardening is harder than it looks and there is a huge learning curve. Just keep at it though and each gardening season will be better than the last because you learn something new each year. I have had a lot of garden failures (whole gardens not just certain things) and then I started having little successes. Build on those successes, they will come. Find what methods work for you. I too am the only one that does the garden in our family and I found bio-intensive gardening much easier on me than traditional row gardening. Don't give up you can do this. Blessings, Kat
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I have been there, my first two gardens were total failures! The third try I decided to use raised beds and containers which worked better for me because of drought and a yard filled with shade trees. Now, I'm on my fifth season and I have cut down enough trees to use the yard but Istill grow in containers too. I have learned what grows best and what doesn't.
I have found that Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans always grow for me with little care, just lots of water (in my area anyway) I have found that squash and melons grow wonderfully, pumpkins not so much. Tomatoes were hit and miss until I found a couple of varieties that work well for me and now I can an abundance each year. Mine are doing great on the vine and I still have canned and frozen left from last year. Don't give Up! You will get the knack for it, maybe keep it on the smaller, easier to manage size until you get it down pat. As for the family, my kids were not too into it until I got good at it and they saw the bounty so they got on board and now they love to grow anything they can put in the ground and compete with each other to see who can grow the most. Good Luck! |
I've reduced gardens down from about an acre to a quarter acre and I'm doing better with that than I ever did with the larger gardens.
Ultimately I think gardening just isn't for everyone. I grow just a handful of things in my garden (tomatoes, potatoes, onions, squash, and carrots usually) and then set out a handful of herb and pepper plants. The rest of the food is primarily livestock. |
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OP - keep plugging away at it. Experience is the key. |
Corn is our unicorn. We can grow zuchinni and cukes until it's taking over the garden...corn seems to fail every year lol.
I grew up in a family that has owned a greenhouse/nursery since 1918...so imagine the shame when I have a plant die! :) |
Don't feel bad. I lost almost 100 tomato plants and tilled up what other seed I had allready planted and forgot. And I been gardening for 50 years LOL Ya got good advice
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you have learned to grow your seeds inside...that is a big start. hurray for you, do not give up....
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Take heart. This spring has been horrible weather-wise. We're still growing things in pots because we can't get a long enough break in the weather for the soil to dry enough to till. But, you just have to take what nature gives you and try, try again.
Gardening takes persistence and unflagging optimism. |
I needed to hear this...
All along I thought it was just me. :banana02: |
Yes it is hard!
I am working towards getting a large, serious garden going, but feel like in reality I am wasting alot of money and killing a lot of plants. I figure, the end result is not really the amount of veggies I produce, but the amount of knowledge I get, so that makes it worth it, and if I keep at it, I'll get better!
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I've grown a garden for 45+ years and every year is a struggle and a joy...either too much rain or not enough or huge bug problem...it is always something. Plus we moved from our elbow deep loam soil of MI to the rocks of MO...whole new learning curve. Even with a small greenhouse you keep second guessing yourself. Should I plant my babies out or not?? We've had over 17" of rain in the past month and there's parts of my big garden I can't walk in yet. The rain has grown more rocks then I've ever seen. Still have tomatoes/peppers wilting in the greenhouse. Way behind. Yet I know if I didn't plant until June I could have a decent garden. The South has had crazy weather this spring and many have your same woes.
And stuff we grew in Mi without a care just don't do well here in the heat/humidity. If I get three zucchini before the plant dies I consider it a blessing! Impossible to grow winter squash though I try ever year...this year they'll all get covered all season with Remay except when blossoming. Please don't let it get you down...plant again and always plant flowers. Zinnias, sunflowers, bachelor buttons, asters...all easy and make you smile when you go out to see your garden. A small garden well-tended will out yield a bigger one. Know people are feeling anxious about their food supplies but remember the farmers markets. You can't do it all ....enjoy the process. You don't have to plant everything on the seed rack. Just plant what you really like to eat. I think everyone has a hiden green thumb. I might recommend the book Gardening When it Counts; excellent. If you were here I'd glad give 'mater plants!! DEE |
I agree with others, don't give up. You still have plenty of time to replant. You can even start tomatoes from seed straight into the garden and have a good crop. What about lettuce, spinach? Still time to plant all that you have listed and enjoy a good crop. Wait till the ground dries out a bit and start over.
As you drive around your area, take note at what the other gardeners are doing. It will give you an idea of when to plant. Buy plants if it helps. I lost all my squash 2 years ago due to vine borer, i ripped them up and took the chance of replanting. It was late June. I had the 'best' squash I have ever had that year! Last year my garden was a failure. Goats ate it all. This year I am still recovering medically, so have a smaller garden than usual, but whatever I can grow, will help our family stretch our budget. Remember pots and tubs. Your children can 'nurture' their own strawberries, lettuce or tomatoes! Last of all, :grouphug: It 'will' get better. |
Don't feel bad and don't Ever let it make you give up! These things always happen with Gardening. One year it one thing and the next year it's something else. That's just how Mother Nature is. I like the description-"Shotgun Gardening". Our weather is trying to sucker me into putting things in the garden, but I know better. But it even got me miffed at Dh when he had to help out a buddy last night and I wanted him to Till for me-he has said he would do "it Today" since Friday. Things are going to pile up, and Bam! -Failure. All my own fault for putting too much on the plate and expecting everyone else to See my vision and timeline. Now the tiller has carburetor issues, the wheelbarrow tire won't hold air and there are 6 new raised beds waiting for soil.(can't get in there with the skid loader) The Brilliant idea of raising chickies under the greenhouse benches, you know, chickie heat lamp heats the greenhouse...... Well all I got was a mess, everything growing in there has to be sprayed with a mister Everyday to wash off the dust those monsters put in the air. Can't let it get ya down tho...
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It took us 10 years to get a good garden here. Gardening is a great patience builder.
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I am on my 3rd garden.
What I think the best advice is (and what I have followed) is keep it simple and do not go too big. My garden is about 20 x 30. It is just the 2 of us. I wouldn't mind a larger garden but with me doing all the work myself as my DSO is just not interested at all, my size is easy to manage. I live in the Southern Part of TN so it is a bit warmer here. This year I planted all my seeds into the ground. Well that huge storm we had here not too long ago washed away the back 1/2 of my garden. So I went and bought a flat of tomato plants (48 for $8) planted 1/2 and gave the rest to a neighbor and bought 8 pepper plants. My garden is simple. Corn with pole beans climbing up the stalks (1/2 of 3 rows) Yellow Bush Beans -- they just taste so good (1/2 of 3 rows) Tomatoes (2 full rows) the last row is mixed with strawberries and pepper plants. Not a lot of different plants but it is food we really enjoy. The strawberries were a gift from someone as they are not really something I would have planted on my own. This year I am using newspaper and cardboard between the rows and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!! It is working so well. Weeding my garden is the task I just didn't like at all. Now I just have to weed on the rows and that is easy to do. So keep it simple - keep it small - keep it enjoyable. |
OH!! 7thSwan....LOL!! Chickies are monsters!! Tee Hee; I've seen years when the dust was my whole house from the loft to the basement because I had several different aged batches going at once,,this is BEFORE I got my "poultry building"..
OP, consider my plight. I have fruit trees that I have been soooo close to cutting down. Some of them are 25 years old and I have NEVER had more than a fruit or two off them. Frost,freeze and freeloaders(critters,disease) get it all every year. *Sigh* mama Nature is toying with me this year..EVERYTHING is loaded!!!! I keep walking around and oggling and ooooooing...... Plums,peaches,nectarines,apples and even a few pears on my tiny tree! What you need is just one success. You can grow food! You have grown transplants. My "neverfail" is beans. I like pole beans because the produce all season long from one planting, but bushbeans produce quicker..some in under 50 days. Now that will give you a shot of "success"!! Rememer the gardener's mantra.."Wait til next year!" |
Here is my simple garden. Yo can see that I do not have newspaper and cardboard on every row yet as getting enough takes longer than I thought it would.
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...n/101_2619.jpg |
Wow! Ya'll are a great shot in the arm. Yeah, yesterday just wasn't what I hoped it would be in the garden, but today...it didn't rain after all last night, so TILLER, HERE I COME!!! Thanks, friends!
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Every year, there is always a crop or two that is a complete flop for me. I just re-plant something else in that area or go buy started plants at the farmer's market to replace them. Because of our short growing season, I mostly embrace what seems to do well and plan to preserve the harvest.
Last year, the only tomatoes we got were cherry tomatoes. So, I canned lots of those as sauce. Last year, peas did very well. This year...my peas are probably not going to produce much at all. Just go with the flow and learn from your mistakes. |
I'm so glad I read this. I put two of our tomatoe plants out the other day and I'm not sure eithr is going to make it lol.
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Most of my greenhouse stock suffered a horrible death. I have a few seeds left, but not an enormous amount. So I went today to pick up some tomato plants at the nursery in town.
No decent-looking plants and even at 5" tall most of them were showing signs of the blight. I'm about to have a tomato fit. |
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