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Post by desertwoman on Jul 19, 2021 23:44:50 GMT -5
one of my worst- maybe the worst- of gardening years. I may be outdoing reuben It seems to be mostly drought related. Garlic crop was good. Lettuces did fine and the various romaines are still producing , pole beans seem to be on track. Pumpkin and tomatoes are way behind (I have one small green tomato so far). Chiles are so-so. A few plants have some decent sized chiles, on decent sized plants but more than half of them are still small plants- just not taking off like they usually do by now. Zucchini is going wild. (do zukes ever not produce too many?!) The veggie garden looks sparse and somewhat pathetic. Flower beds too. I'm getting to see what actually thrives in deep drought conditions: day lilies, echinacea, yarrow, sedum autumn joy, sunflowers, roses surprisingly- Sally Holmes and Westerland, iris, ornamental oregano and some ground covers. And the two native grasses I have in 2 small spaces are doing as they should.... drying up without rain and greening up beautifully as long as we get 1/2 inch (which we've had 3 such rains over the past 3 weeks). Fruit trees are suffering. I should have watered them this past winter. I'm trying to make up for the lack with some extra water and hope they will revive well. Our other trees seem to be doing ok. This year at least. They are now referring to it as a mega drought. It could go on for many more years and has been going for a few years now. Time will tell. I actually have a pretty drought resistant and drought tolerant landscape but I'm not sure even those can stand up to mega drought conditions. I'm a little discouraged.
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 20, 2021 4:32:46 GMT -5
desertwoman, But you are not a quitter and I know you will garden on!
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Post by gardendmpls on Jul 20, 2021 5:14:03 GMT -5
one of my best of garden years so far.
Cutting down the old tree contributed three things- more light, more space and more mulch. As a result, everything is growing faster and larger. The fence also gives more vertical space and the bushes and feral trees where it went in were removed, giving even more room and light. Hiring a young man to help with the heavy work meant many things done on time. Rain is coming often enough that I haven't had to use the sprinkler yet. Of course, anything could happen between now and frost. I am counting my blessings as they come.
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Post by reuben on Jul 20, 2021 6:22:50 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear that, and I hope that it gets better. FWIW I have no plans to ever move west. Too many issues with drought, fire, and maybe even earthquakes. Visit? Sure. Blight or whatever has taken hold of most of my tomatos, so I won't get much. Garlic was poor to mediocre. Lettuce is going fairly well, especially for this time of year. The peppers in the area that got composted grass clippings last fall are looking good. The peppers in the area that didn't get composted grass clippings last fall are looking like garbage. The cucumber plants are their usual robust and sprawling selves, but they're not for me. So about the time I get this garden into decent shape with compost and whatnot, I'll move (probably a couple of years down the road). That will allow me to preserve my streak of bad gardening.
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 20, 2021 8:18:55 GMT -5
no plans to ever move west. Too many issues with drought, fire, and maybe even earthquakes. well heck- we think alike. I have no plans to move east. Too many issues with insects, diseases and density ( humidity, people, plants, trees) ....'give me land lots of land lots of starry skies above...'
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 20, 2021 9:07:54 GMT -5
reuben, desertwoman, How about meet halfway? The midwest??? We have lots of good soil, usually enough rain, lots of land if you get out of the city. Nice smells, pigs, cows...... There is the occasional tornado/deracho/flood. No forest fires, no earthquakes!
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 20, 2021 9:50:22 GMT -5
kind of flat out there, isn't it? Seems what we might call a rise or a hill, y'all call mountains ;)
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Post by reuben on Jul 20, 2021 10:14:20 GMT -5
I have no plans to move east. Too many issues with insects, diseases and density ( humidity, people, plants, trees) .... But, but - we have ticks!
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 20, 2021 12:47:54 GMT -5
But, but - we have ticks! and this as an advantage because....
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jul 20, 2021 12:52:50 GMT -5
Ticks are so friendly. They become very attached to you.
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Post by centralilrookie on Jul 20, 2021 13:10:46 GMT -5
...... a very humbling experience! Because of late planting and rains keeping me out of the garden I’m ready to plow it all under and get ready for next year. Tomatoes are not even in the same league as last year, green beans are just plain embarrassing and the weeds took off in the monsoons that I can’t find the onions. My optimism is at a pretty low level at this point.
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 20, 2021 22:37:45 GMT -5
...... a very humbling experience! We all experience that! Ya gotta love ma nature and gardening. It keeps us humble, indeed-I've always said gardening in my therapy and my church as well as my gym. And the wonderful thing is that there's always next year which keeps our optimism alive!
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Post by emmsmommy on Jul 22, 2021 20:40:23 GMT -5
My garden has its disappointments this year but also is doing better than last year on several things. My entire beet haul for last year was three whole beets. I'm harvesting at least every couple of days and just started some golden beet transplants for fall. Pepper plants are loaded to the point that I need to start eating more or find someone to give them to. Beans are coming along despite being plated late and cabbage is starting to finally head up after the invasion of the cabbage worms last month. I cut several lettuce plants off at ground level to plant beans and have been rewarded with tiny tender leaves that satisfy my fresh salad withdrawal. Onions look to be a disaster as I think I should have kept them inside longer. Garlic was pitiful. Cucumber seedlings made a tasty snack for the slugs and their replacements are growing along with zucchini in peat pots in the greenhouse. Kale is finally starting to do something after months of nothing and corn is a toss-up right now. So not a good year but not a bad one.
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 23, 2021 4:53:10 GMT -5
I had my doubts about eggplant and peppers this year, but they took off once the temps remained stable. Then with the constant watering things were doing OK, then suddenly surged. I've got bean leaves 3-4" in diameter, cabbages are going crazy. It not looks like the usual jungle out there after the 3" rain last week. There is still plenty of moisture in the soil as evidenced by the muddy potatoes I dug from one hill last night. The only disappointment this year is the struggle to keep cukes healthy and growing! Onions were better than last year, beets are getting huge, kohlrabi is slow, but planted late and needs thinning. Brocolli made smaller heads than usual, but continues with numerous side shoots.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jul 28, 2021 20:00:49 GMT -5
What with all our health issues of the spring season, I didn't think we'd have much of a garden. Didn't get to plant beans or peas, and everything else planted late... but bless our hearts, now we've got tomatoes, tatsoi, peppers, okra, squash, basil, dill, and other stuff rolling in just fine, after all. We so happy. A will, a way. We sure do luvs our garden, and somehow it worked out this season.
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