Garden Woes

*Okay, so I've been blogging a bit recently. The reason: It is too wet outside to do much, Ethan has had a lot of evening activities lately, and by the time the kids are to bed I am tired of indoor housework. It's still there. I'm just being lazy. So I am taking a blogging unvacation (or a break from housework. Whichever way you put it.) I'm thinking that my blogging unvacation will last until things slow down for Ethan or until I can get outside again and get my much needed change of scenery for the day. :)

Back to my post. (Picture to come soon)

I have had high hopes for our garden the past 3 years. Now my hopes are for next year.

The first year we had our property we didn't have much of a garden. Since we weren't living here, it was nearly impossible to take care of.

Last year we were quite late getting the garden tilled. I also planted the majority of our garden in newly broke land. There was one section where we planted the sweet corn and gourds where the hogs had been the previous summer, and the corn and gourds did amazing! But that was about all. The rest of the garden left much to be desired - you might have experienced the same with a first year garden.

This year was going to be the year I got my garden going full swing. Unfortunately, this is not the year yet. Due to late plowing this spring (still trying to condition this 14+ years untouched prairie sod), countless projects this spring delaying planting, an extremely cold and wet week after planting that led to seeds rotting in the ground, more projects, transplanting raspberry and strawberry plants (a step ahead but not much fruit this year), finally replanting, and now the garden turning into a lake from all of our rain . . . the garden is leaving much to be desired again.

I did manage to get potatoes and onions going early, and they are doing great - especially with being in the old hog lot section. The wind storm last week did tear apart a lot of my onions, but hopefully they will pull through. So while the first year was the year of not much, last year was the year of corn and gourds - and a small batch of beans and tomatoes to can, this year will probably be the year of potatoes and onions.

I am a bit disappointed with not having a good variety of vegetables. Especially after we were able to put away so much corn last year and some beans and tomatoes. I was really hoping to can a lot of tomatoes and beans this year, freeze more corn, and try to make pickles and salsa for the first time. I also wanted to have some pie pumpkins for pumpkin pie, and all the great tasting veggies to just eat fresh.

Right now I am making plans on next year's garden: condition the soil this fall (that was a plan last year too, but surprising *said sarcastically* we had a lot of other things going on), set up panels for plants that vine before the frost, level out the soil so there aren't water holes for heavy rains to drown plants (my poor tomatoes this year!), and have my layout figured out before February.

Like I said, I am hoping this year to at least get a good harvest of potatoes and onions. Not my first pick of a crop, but it will do. I might even try to get some fall crops to replace some of the spring ones I'm missing out on - peas, lettuce, beans (to hopefully can). Any other suggestions on how to try to redeem this season a bit?