GARDEN MUSINGS

            We spent the better part of April tilling, weeding, and planting our garden this year.  Included in the process was deciding what we would plant.  Each year we like to add a couple of new items that we've never attempted to grow before, and to do that we have say goodbye to a couple veggies from last year to make room.  Again this year we have planted 3 favorites:  Zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers, though the tomatoes will be yellow instead of red, and the Bell peppers gave way to Banana and Hot Chile's.  Our newest garden varieties include spinach, green and yellow wax beans, radishes, and turnips, which means we bid a fond farewell to last years producers:  yellow squash, eggplant, head lettuce, and cabbage, pumpkins, and cantaloupe.  Luckily the Strawberries planted last year, came back up stronger than ever and have already started producing red ripe fruit for the picking and plenty more berries ready to turn.  Pies and shortcake won't be far off.  Funny thing about the berries, is that the we were warned that once ripe, the birds would be the biggest challenge to harvesting them, but I've found that our Beagle loves to eat those berries that stick through the fence,

and she by far is that

biggest threat to our crop.

            Since the both of us are still learning with every new crop we try, I would have to say last years garden taught us alot about vegetables that vine out across the garden floor.  Since we only have a 20' x 20' plot, 3 vining plants totally overwhelmed our garden.  Weeding became impossible.  Hence the change to primarily plants that climb upwards, given one exception, our favorite zucchini.   Now that everything we've planted this year has risen above the soil by anywhere from 5" to 12", the decision to cut back on the number of crops, and improve spacing, was a change for the better. 

Maintenance and weeding is still not the fun part of gardening, (maybe the therapeutic part), but at least it will be a whole lot easier this year.  To all of you other suburban and urban farmers out there, we wish you a bumper crop, and please share anything you can spare with your local food pantry, so that others don't have to go hungry.