Round Two of Lessons from the First Summer Gardening
August 31, 2018We’ve learned a lot this first year of gardening. In addition to the previous list, Missy and I had a brainstorming session for things I didn’t include there. Some new items were:
- Indeterminate tomatoes get really big. I mentioned this regarding square foot gardening, but they’re just beyond ridiculous.
- Have an overarching timeline of what should be planted when. We were mostly planting things that should be planted at that time instead of starting with a comprehensive plan.
- Don’t plant random herbs. We planted herbs in our raised bed with the tomatoes and peppers. What we’ve found is that we’ve used the mint to just keep it in check, the basil here and there, and just a bit of the oregano. The thyme has gone untouched and the cilantro planted elsewhere was never used as well. Next year, we’ll think more about what we actually use.
- Start seedlings indoors. We could’ve had some earlier harvests if we had started more indoors. What we did start indoors successfully was the beans. And those ended up being eaten by deer or rabbits.
- Let’s think about landscape fabric. We spent a lot of time weeding and still lost the battle. Landscape fabric, while it could end up being expensive, would make our summer far more enjoyable.
- Let’s think about irrigation. We had two sprinklers: one that was on a motion sensor and one that was a typical lawn sprinkler. While they did the job this year, it was wet for a fair amount of the beginning of the summer. I’m not sure how we’d do in a drier year.
We’re slowly learning and this was definitely the most haphazard year. After the fall, it’ll be time to start planning for next summer.
