One of my greatest endeavors = this year's garden.
I am smitten, and yet, I feel like somehow it is slipping through my fingers, and I am not basking in it enough. I don't know why. Maybe it's sort of like being the hostess of a busy party? Mister Lovee suggested this to be the case, and I quite agree.
I do stand and admire it, and attempt to soak it all in. I feel a bit in a state of shock, at the beautiful magnitude of it all (for me it's a lush garden, but maybe not so lush compared to those of you in a cooler and wetter climate).
The giant sunflowers, the pumpkins, oh the pumpkins. I have lived with the vast desire to grow pumpkins for years and years. It seems like a dream to me in a way. So many years of trying, and this time it worked.
The key.
Plant early, early, early.
I water twice a day. I only fertilized the soil (organically) twice in 5 months. No bug spray, nada, nothing to save me from the gophers except for me having the idea to push shishkabob skewers and popsicle sticks into the ground, all around my plant roots, to make it harder for gophers to get to them. It worked, for a while.
If you know how I use tape - imagine how many popsicle sticks are in my ground :)
I used metal bars too (pushed into the ground, like the skewers and popsicle sticks, around my plant roots), and hit the bars many times a day with a large hammer, to make noise in the ground in an attempt to deter gophers.
I also started digging my planting area depth a bit extra, and lining the underground with chicken wire, as gophers eat your plants from underground. Wow - what a job that was. Alas, the early plantings were not in chicken wire. (btw, the rabbits have been aggressive too, eating most of my dahlias & much more)
Still, the stinky gophers attacked many times. Oh and, I think I told you this, but my first planting of about 500 seeds were growing beautifully, and then were gone from one morning to the next (gophers and birds), so I had to plant everything again, way back in early March. The goal is not to give up and keep forging ahead...
Recently I woke up to dead vines, that had two beautiful flourishing baby pumpkins on them (pumpkins unharmed, phew - vines, not so lucky). Attacked by gophers over night.
I can't bring myself to kill the gophers, so I just try to protect my plants (next year I will plant above ground or figure out something better than plunking seeds right into the bare ground). But, I would be lying if I didn't tell you that, I have woken up every morning with gopher fear. I don't much like finding gopher holes and mounds, and missing 3 foot plants and healthy vines.
Yucky business I tell ya. But, oh well, what can you do? Just be happy for what survived, I say.
And, I am.
My gardening is like, super naked organic gardening. So, I think I did okay. I am pleased with the fruits of it.
Actually, I am greatly pleased.
Okay, okay, I confess, I am obnoxiously over zealously thrilled with my garden. Although it has been a ton of work, it has been totally worth it.
:)
Over 3oo packets of seeds, and most of the vegetable seed packs were some I found in my old desk, from 2004-2006, expired, yet they grew (I also planted new seeds). I did all of my planting the last week in February and the first week in March. We have the option to drain our washing machine into the garden, and so we did. That, and 4-6 hours of tending the garden a day on my part, is what has helped the garden survive the summer heat, and the animals.
What an incredible experience. Growing things.
I feel like I have not even begun to share photos of the garden, and all the varieties of flowers. I will try to work on it, if you are interested that is?
I have thousands of photos, and just need to go through them all...
I got a huge break this past week and weekend. We got rain.
Beautiful skies dropped buckets of rain.
We got to wade in it (it was a lot of water), and play hooky from having to water for 2 days.
The peach tree is puddling on the ground with the weight from the rain and the ripening fruit...
I found a beautiful peach cobbler recipe in Victoria Magazine (Victoria Classics ~ Special Issue~ Rooms of Bliss 2010). I can not wait to try it. A few more days for the peaches, and I will be baking... Yippee!
But, the moment I have been waiting to share, came right after the rain this weekend...
When our big baby, was ready to come inside (squeal, snort, skip, cackle).
Punkin' Love, oh punkin' LOVE!
I kissed it.
I hugged it.
I put it next to Mister Lovee while he slept, to surprise him.
My beloved, large, baby punkin' head...
I am so glad that so many folks told me there was no way I was going to grow pumpkins. (none of you of course)
You know why?
Because, I believe that every time someone says something negative to you, 10 good things happen to you. So therefore, I grew pumpkins...
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!
I am tickled orange!
Small, medium or large...
I love them all the same.
And, if we are lucky, there are more interesting squash loves on the way...
But for now.
My Family's Portrait.........
Aren't they handsome?
Pinch me.
Did they really grow?
Oh yes, they did, they did, they did! Hoooray!
I must confess, this whole thing has me feeling positively WITCHY!
Bwahahahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
I have to go, cackle calling. Must polish broom, on the double!
