A lot of things didn't go as planned with my summer garden. Things just didn't grow like I thought they should have. In fact, some of my vegetables did much better than they probably had any right to. I thought that because I had found a few earthworms as big as little snakes, this soil should be more fertile. And it was, indeed, good enough to keep some things growing, but because there was so much clay, there was no way that I was going to get much produce. I only got a few tomatoes from what I actually planted, although the rogue cherries were great. All of the tomato plants had been grown from seeds indoors, but had been planted too early in a cold, windy spring. Despite all my best efforts, those efforts weren't good enough. I ended up ripping up half of them.
The other half had one or two fruits. Thumbs down on these for this year. It wasn't a hot summer, for the most part. Great for those of us who hate the heat, but it sucked for the tomatoes.
Bit by bit, here and there, I added extra organic soil to the dirt around the plants, but it was too late to dig it in and mix it up. Since there there was so much clay, the soil either dried out too fast, or it was too wet. There was never a happy medium. Up at the front of the garden, by the street, this had been the area where I had been composting leaves and certain weeds beforehand. So this dirt was a bit better and my lettuce did pretty good there in the spring. Everywhere else was problematic. The only tomato that did well was the one that had been planted next to the chopped down tree. I have no idea why that plant was happy there. Maybe the ground was broken up from tree branches or something. Maybe its roots didn't have to struggle in a compacted soil. Gotta dig deeper next year and add way more compost. I found out that there is free compost once a month over in Berkeley. I'll take advantage of such things more often.
I had planted two different kinds of cucumbers this spring - and later sowed more seeds. Nothing but stunted little plants. A couple vines threw out several yellow, stunted fruits. Total Fail. I was so disappointed. There is so much more to this gardening stuff than I had figured on. There is nothing like nature showing one what cocky F%$(ers we can be.
Surprisingly, the one worry that I did have never materialized: there were no varmints. The de-weeding of the field was a huge contributor to this, but I did expect some critter action. I found one carrot dug up and chewed on. That was it. I was confounded. But then again, there wasn't the bounty I had envisioned either. And I had no crazy raccoons driving me nuts and trying to break in. I hate to say it, but they had started amusing me despite and because of their antics!
There were hundreds of wasps all summer, but hardly any bees. In fact, I found some dead ones. I keep hearing people say that sometimes they just die while pollinating and doing their thing, but Ive been finding them everywhere on the sidewalks. This isn't normal. They are dying. We cant live without bees. Ive planted flowers. Ive let thistles grow in strategic places. I want the bees to come and love my garden. So I'll plant more flowers tailored to their tastes next year and hope for the better. And hopefully I can beat my landlord to the Roundup rape of the yard with my handy little weed whacker. I have to start earlier in the game.
I got lots of green beans, kale, Swiss chard, a few potatoes and spaghetti squash. I got one big French Heirloom pumpkin and lots of rogue cherry tomatoes.Everything just felt half-assed. It wasn't a total disaster, but with better planning, a lot more soil amending, and the proper fertilizers and nutrients, I'm sure everything will thrive. I still fantasize about shelves of canned produce! I am every hopeful.
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