Our sad garden

Well, the garden didn't turn out too well. It was fun to watch everything grow but not too much fun to watch everything stop growing. This was our first year so we decided from the outset that it would be just a learning year for us.

Check out the best of the carrots. Cry with me.

I can point to several factors in the garden's not doing very well, and how we hope to counteract them next year:

1. The soil was not tilled far enough down. When I see the stunted pathetic carrots, I can really imagine that they just didn't have anywhere to go. Next year we'll look into hiring someone to do it for us (I can't imagine it would cost much more than renting it ourselves and the subsequent ER costs and foot reattachment surgery).
2. Chipmunks. Little rodents -- good thing they're so cute. Next year we plant to plant a marigold and lavender border.
3. Powdery mildew. It got our zucchinis and cantaloupes and I think it got our watermelon too. Next year we will spray with a milk solution that should help.
4. Planting too much, too close, all at the same time, and late in the season. Next year, we'll use our experience from this year!
5. The miscarriage happened the weekend after I planted the garden. I don't know what I plan to do to not have that happen again, but it sure did put a damper on my enthusiasm and ability to do anything this summer.

Now, we did have some success. I had a nice crop of cherry tomatoes in a big pot on our front porch -- we probably got close to 60. We still have about a dozen green tomatoes and we're just hoping the plant can hold out long enough to ripen them up. Another case of overcrowding but I think it was a success nonetheless. I also did better-than-expected on my herb pots as well, since I usually kill anything off by the time it sprouts. We have had lots of fresh basil, thyme, and mint. Cilantro and dill didn't do very well -- I think they got too much sun.

Tell me -- how did your gardens grow this summer?