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| Garden produce, August 2021 |
Here it is March, and time to think about our farm garden and what we might successfully grow this year. As produce – and groceries in general – become more expensive, Mike wondered aloud if we could grow more of our food. It’s a nice thought, but in recent years, I haven’t grown anything in my garden that relieved us of buying food.
“The spinach on your plate came from our garden,” I might announce, “and by the way, that’s all of it.” Or, perhaps I’ll have enough to put up a box or two that I save to share at a family gathering. I haven’t even grown decent zucchini!
With hot, dry summers, my thumb has turned brown, and while I accept some responsibility for that, regional gardens shriveled away in last summer's heat while gardeners looked on in dismay. It can be too hot for the vegetation, even if you water.
We just can’t give up the effort to grow our food, though. Our world is facing environmental challenges, and hopefully we can overcome somehow.
You may recall that we have three rustic raised beds on the farm, and one contains strawberries. They are all fenced against the marauding deer, and I shade them with dog food sacks pinned to the fencing as summer progresses.
So, we talked about it. What can we do? More raised beds? Tear out the strawberries and plant vegetables? Plow up a section of the yard for a new garden plot? “Really, Mike,” I said, “it’s a lot of work, and it might be for nothing.” Besides digging up the ground, a garden plot would have to be fenced, and that means even more work. Paying the price for produce looks better all the time, provided produce is available.
But – here I go again. I researched heat-loving, drought-tolerant vegetables. Beans, zucchini, all squash, melons, corn, okra, and eggplant were among the listed items. These require space to grow adequately, and absent from the list are the leafy greens that are most important to our diet.
Another suggestion is to plant earlier so that you harvest before the really hot months. “Early Girl” or Roma tomatoes were on that list. I’ve actually considered planting earlier, but I usually don’t get to it until June, and I admit that’s just too late. This spring, we must make early planting a priority.
And I wonder if we can’t do more to take advantage of the country fruits. We have lots of plums, serviceberries, black hawthorn, and elderberries, and we’ve planted cherry, apple, and pear trees in the yard. It’s too soon to tell what the yield will be. We get what we get, and some years we don’t get any. KW
5 comments:
You didn't mention having to deal with rodents who like to munch on succulent roots. Are you up to such an ordeal? It sounds to me like a project for staying full time on the farm.
No, I didn't mention the rodents, but I was thinking about them. I try to keep my posts under 500 words -- and use appropriate language! We have a few bunnies, and they like my gardens. Like Peter Rabbit, they S-q-e-e-z-e under the fence. Being there fulltime is indeed an issue we cope with, but the deer and the rodents care not whether we're there or not. Watering is another matter, but there are ways to manage that.
We have rabbits by the dozens but they don't bother our squash which is all we've grown the past few years. I am thinking of trying green beans again this year, but it's insects that eat them. Meanwhile, we have been dealing with moose this winter and they have eaten through our arborvitae hedge and decimated the four under our bedroom window. We have two moms with yearlings and believe it or not, a bull moose. Dan was forced to build a fence to surround the ones under the window but he had to wait until the ground thawed so he put plastic bags over them to start. I sent a note of apology to our across the street neighbors.
I agree -- the bunnies don't seem to bother the squash. They like beans, though. Last year I planted beans and they didn't germinate -- or maybe the bunnies ate them right out of the ground.
Sounds like you have a bull moose and his harem. Sister Joni speaks often of the moose and how extraordinarily large they are. Her satellite dish, affixed to the balcony, was just shoulder height to the moose and was bumped off and had to be moved.
I could attribute it to country living, but as we know, they can find their way into town.
Wow, Chris! I'm so sorry to hear of what the moose did to your yard. And also, moose are kind of scary.
A person can grow a lot of things successfully in containers, but you'd still need to protect them from the deer.
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