Some years ago I decided to try my hand at growing vegetables. That's not easy for the backyard Florida gardener to do, since our soil is really just sand. Soil improvements and amendments are absolutely a requirement. My husband was excited about my new hobby and even rigged up a way to keep the critters out of my little garden area. Later he/we built an even bigger screened in area with raised beds.
I did everything by the book. Really. I had books on gardening in Florida, in Central Florida, vegetable gardening in my area, and so on. I read every web site I could find and garden blogs written by gardeners in my area. I read about the perfect soil and made the appropriate amendments. I faithfully pulled bugs off of my precious plants, watered regularly (but not too much), and got rid of weeds so they wouldn't steal the nutrients from the soil. What did I get for my efforts? In a span of 4 years I managed to grow a handful of cherry tomatoes, a few hot peppers, enough lettuce for one small salad, about half a dozen very small sweet potatoes, and a tiny bit of broccoli. One year I did manage to grow enough Seminole pumpkins to make our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, but there was really very little for all of my efforts. I gave up, and my abandoned garden taunted me every time I looked out my kitchen window.
Fast forward to last fall (fall is our best growing season) when my husband decided to restart the garden. He did everything I did but somehow managed to produce a bumper crop. We had tomatoes all season, delicious crisp cucumbers. enough lettuce for weeks and weeks of salad...you get the picture.
Maybe there really is truth in the idea that some people have a green thumb. I really want to be jealous of him but I managed to tame the green-eyed monster due the fact that I benefit from his delicious backyard crops. He didn't have any better luck with bell peppers than I did; they're notoriously difficult to grow here. Other than that, everything he planted did well.
I do just fine with herbs, so he leaves me some room for my basil, parsley, cilantro, and green onions. All the rest has been turned over to him. I'll stick to planting and caring for native plants that attract birds and butterflies. He'll stick to planting what the humans eat.
Do you have a garden? Does it include edibles? Are you a natural with a green thumb or do you have to work hard at keeping your plants alive and getting them to thrive?
This post is part of the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge.
3 comments:
I have a green thumb when it comes to vegetables, but I can manage herbs and the like. I tried but the bugs enjoyed my labors rather than us. :) However, our laurel bushes and morning glory have taken over the yard, so don't have to worry about empty spaces.
All good clean fun! We live in rented accommodation and have been strictly forbidden by the landlord to planting anything in the large garden... now we're planning a potting season! I also want to have fun! ;-)
AJ at Ouch My Back Hurts
Aj, container gardening takes time to make sure the plants don't dry out, but I've seen some beautiful yards in my neighborhood filled with plants in containers.
Robin, the bugs loved my vegetables a bit too much too. My husband goes out at night when they're often feeding, and picks them off by hand. Maybe that's the secret to his success. I didn't have that kind of dedication.
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