10 Things I Learned From My Garden This Year

I started a garden late last year after hearing my oldest son talk about his garden and how much fun he was having, how much better his produce tasted and how much cheaper it was especially when the money ran out before the week did.

I picked up a pepper plant, a tomato plant and a squash plant and put them in the old sandbox that DH had been using for our grass clippings and fall leaves.  Lo and behold, the plants grew and thrived despite me ignoring them except for the times I threw out kitchen fruit and veggie waste and when I watered.  We actually grew squash and one red pepper and a lot of tomatoes but some bug always ate them the day before I planned on picking them.  As a result of tossing fruit and veggie waste, we were surprised with cantaloupe from which we got a couple of good melons from.  Not much to brag about, but still we grew some stuff and was able to eat some of it.

This year I purchased some seed packets and planted seeds, watched them germinate, transferred them to pots and then waited for DH to till up the garden area.  He was so excited he built another box and filled it with fill dirt.  We finally planted the seedlings after all the rain ceased and now we wait for our bounty.

Without further adieu, the ten things I learned from my garden this year are

1. When you see the seed potatoes at Nuts and Bolts, buy the seed potatoes because when you want them, they will be gone.
2. Plant more squash as DS LOVES squash.
3. When DH rebuilds the sand box plot, remind him that I want the box built narrower.  I am doing the square foot method and the center of the box is too hard to reach and (I don't want to get too dirty.)   Not really, but it is pretty inconvenient.
4. Make a compost bin, stop using the large green pot.
5. Use the large green pot for the seed potatoes (see #1).
6. Read the seed packet and sow the seeds accordingly.  Some seeds grow quickly and others do not.  Work on timing.  Timing is everthing.
7. Browse through seed catalogs to see what all is available because I want to incorporate more veggies into our daily meals.
8. Build a couple of trellises from old stakes or small branches so that I can do some vertical planting.
9. Buy a strawberry bush.
10. At the end of the season, put cardboard down on the new garden plot and wet it.  Then shred some newspaper and put it on top of the cardboard.  Wet this too.  Add clippings from garden waste, contents of compost bin and leaves.  Then cover all with a tarp to encourage disintegration throughout the fall.  The fill dirt DH purchased is AWFUL.  This process should help greatly.

What about you?  Do you have any things you have learned from your garden this year that you would like to share?