Planting the Fall Garden

My Spring garden was pretty much a  bust.

I procrastinated too much and got the peas in the ground too late; they didn't yield much before they lost the battle with our darned-near-100-degree heat last week.

I planted twelve various store bought peppers in the open areas in the berry garden and although there are a few silver dollar sized fruits on the plants, the plants themselves are still pretty small.

Most of the tomatoes I started indoors are doing well.  The ones that are fenced in, that is.  The ones that I planted outside of the mostly-chicken-proof area were dead in two days.  The ones in the fenced berry garden are already starting to take over an area and I will soon have to bring a machete with in order to harvest them.

And my volunteer squash?  Oh, my poor squash.  There were three Patty-Pan'ish plants two yellow squash plants and one butternut plant.  I fought a fierce battle with the damned squash bugs but even with my daily picking, squashing, drowning, stomping of their tiny little eggs and bodies, I lost the war.  A few days ago I picked the last three tiny squashes and gave up.  In less than four days, the plants were gone.  Like totally dead, flattened, sucked of their life and matted into the surrounding garden area.  You wouldn't hardly be able to tell that they were even there just a week ago.  Scary.

And to make matters worse, some of them have started attacking my cucumbers!!  I've already lost one plant and I'm really trying to save the other five.  I've only harvested three cucumbers from the first larger plant (the one that died thanks to the squash bugs) and it was soooo sad.....there were lots of teeny-tiny baby cucumbers on the vine!  I suspect that I'll lose all of the cucumbers too.

But, hope springs eternal.  Right?

So remember that new garden plot that I said I was just going to keep idle and just keep adding wasted hay and compost & maybe some green manure to?  Well, I started planting it.  If only to move away from the darned squash bugs.  Paul had the auger hooked up to the tractor so I figured I shouldn't waste the opportunity to use mechanical means to bust through the ground (I'd call it soil, except there is very little "soil" to speak of) and stick some seeds in there.  And yes, I DID need to use the auger for that task.  I actually hand dug eight holes for eight squash plants and it took me hours.  Yes.  Several HOURS just to chop through the ground.  Pick ax and rock bar and a spade-thingy that looks like an instrument of murder.  I filled up the empty holes with compost and stuck my seeds in.  Then, since the area is not fenced off, I made little round rock fortresses around the holes in an effort to deter the chickens from scratching the young seedlings into oblivion.  We'll see how that works.  If you see a post titled "F'n Chickens!" in the next week, you'll know it didn't go well.

Speaking of rock fortresses, my herb garden is going great!  The chickens haven't been able to scratch the herbs to death and things are taking off like gangbusters.  I'd take a picture, but alas, I have yet to order the darned thing.  Which I may just do after I've finished this post.  I'm going to buy one that Mike Yukon over at Living Prepared bought.  He is always doing reviews and other neat comparison things on his blog.  Everything from digital cameras and rocket stoves to raising potatoes in 5-gallon buckets and even eating meat that's months old (and surviving to tell the tale!).  Go say hello if you've got time on your "Just one more blog and I'll go outside" clock :)

I'm off to plant some more.....I mean, buy that camera.

And then plant some more :)

Paul's Take
I told her not to plant the tomatoes that close together.  And now she's doing the same thing with the squash in the fall garden.  Does ANYbody ever listen to me?

Hello?