final garden update of 2009

Well . . . all I can say about this year is:  I tried!  I thought if I bought "quality" (i.e. expensive) seeds that things would go well.  Not true.  Most of the flowers that we planted did not come up at all, and the one that did refused to make even one flower until I threatened to rip it out (then of course it did make a lousy flower and the kids won't let me do anything to it).  Our watermelon grew a nice plant and blossomed, but no fruit.

Here's my teddy bear sunflower.  I don't think it liked our record 105-degree heat.

My tomatoes got blossom rot from being too close to the roof and getting a little too much rain early in the season (and then baked to death later).

After the fact I read a book specifically about Texas gardening, and had I read that beforehand, I wouldn't have expected so much this summer.  Basically it says that summer gardening is for fun and hard to execute, that you should plan to go for broke in the fall.

Of course, we are baked to a crisp here this summer due to an unrelenting weather pattern, but then El Nino is supposed to catch up and we're going to have a very soggy fall.

I have made the executive decision that we're giving up for this year and we'll try again next spring!

Comments

[Jeannie]

Same here... it sure was fun though! I m considering "asking for it" and trying a fall garden but still undecided. :)

[Erin Wilkinson]

Our Tomatoes did the same thing...so sad!! We got 5 nice plants and Josh tried really hard...but it was SO hot!

[Jen Barkdull]

Our did the same. :(

[Jenny]

Surprisingly, we have had the best tomatoes this year....er, I mean, this SPRING. Ever since our yard has turned into a 118-degree oven, they have become fried green tomato PLANTS. I feel your pain. Heat....grrrr. It's just not worth the battle sometimes. (I also just do not want to be out in the heat tending to a garden....better to bake the tomatoes than myself, right?)

I may just jump on the garden-boycotting bandwagon for the fall, too...especially since I'll be BIG and about to deliver a baby. Thanks for the idea :)