What started it allOne day my fellow bought a half wine barrel out of the back of some guy's truck in Napa... after I had filled it to the brim with herbs and radishes, I couldn't seem to stop, and pretty soon the potted plants were everywhere.
The entire porch, early April 2009: Humble beginningsI vowed to use only organic gardening methods, and planted way too many things in too small of a space. The peas, beans, nasturtiums, cilantro, tomatoes, and radishes exploded with vigor... the gourds, zucchini, peppers, sage, basil, and strawberries puttered along and didn't really produce anything considering all the effort that was put in.
The entire porch, late June 2009: A vegetable jungle!
The shepherd's hookI was also conscious of attracting beneficial organisms to my garden, so I added a hummingbird feeder and nasturtiums for the birds & bees. It seemed to work... all my flowers were pollenated, and it did seem to make a dent in the aphid population.
Looking back, it's obvious what the garden was missing... not enough sun, not enough salad plants, not enough fertilizer, and definitely not enough root space for most of the plants. But the 3 lessons that I will keep in mind the most this season are:
- Grow more tomato plants than you think you'll need. I only grew one plant last year which ended up being very abundant, but friends and family love home-grown tomatoes almost as much as I do... I didn't even get a chance to try them cooked!
- Snow peas begin lose their flavor within minutes of harvest, as the pea uses up the sugars... eating them as you pluck them from the vines is a unique pleasure not to be missed. Peas were also by far the largest producer for the least amount of care and space in the container garden, in this cool California bay area summer.
- There will always be aphids in the garden. Always. It's okay. Just try to keep them from overwhelming the seedlings, and invest in a good salad spinner for when you wash bugs off delicate plants.
If you have a garden, what's an important lesson you learned in your first year?
Looking back, it's obvious what the garden was missing... not enough sun, not enough salad plants, not enough fertilizer, and definitely not enough root space for most of the plants. But the 3 lessons that I will keep in mind the most this season are:
- Grow more tomato plants than you think you'll need. I only grew one plant last year which ended up being very abundant, but friends and family love home-grown tomatoes almost as much as I do... I didn't even get a chance to try them cooked!
- Snow peas begin lose their flavor within minutes of harvest, as the pea uses up the sugars... eating them as you pluck them from the vines is a unique pleasure not to be missed. Peas were also by far the largest producer for the least amount of care and space in the container garden, in this cool California bay area summer.
- There will always be aphids in the garden. Always. It's okay. Just try to keep them from overwhelming the seedlings, and invest in a good salad spinner for when you wash bugs off delicate plants.
If you have a garden, what's an important lesson you learned in your first year?
2 comments:
I remember eating snow peas off the vine in my mother's garden when I was young. It was a delightful treat on a sunny day.
And I agree that you can never have too many home-grown tomatoes!
Someone recently told me that it'd be too hot where we are now to be able to grow peas as well... 'tis sad, but I'm still hopeful about a good harvest before it gets hot, 'cause I started them pretty early this year.
The heat is good for tomatoes though! Last year my plant did pretty good, but from what I hear, it should've done MUCH better. Hahahaha, I'm now up to 10 tomato plants... the backyard is going to be swimming in them!
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