When we first moved into our house three years ago, I was excited with the abundance of empty land, but also the convenience of several already-planted plots. From Japanese eggplant to star-melon, I was happy to finally have the opportunity to grow my own food. We discovered though that some of the squash planted was odd and tasteless, and that one of the melons planted was "wintermelon" which isn't exactly the best fruit for consuming on the fly. (Apparently people make soup with wintermelon, while I just got pricked on the finger by them.) The backyard had several trees, in fact more than the backyard could comfortably fit once they matured. Feeling guilty, I removed many of them, including an odd one that created these large yellow fruits that tasted sort of like lemonade inside (but with so much peel that to get the sweet fruit was a chore.) We still have plenty of cherry trees, which is okay except we don't really eat cherries. We have two donut peach trees whose fruit is terrific, and then a pear tree that makes fabulous fruit, but we can't possibly eat it all before it drops to the ground.
So yes, I was excited when we moved here because I had big plans! After that first year, the eggplant came back, but nothing else on the ground did. I planted some seeds from the squash, but they turned out funny for eating (but great for Halloween and Thanksgiving decoration.) Once while "weeding" I accidentally pulled up a bunch of red potatoes. Mid-summer I told myself that the following summer I'd actually start earlier and we'd end up with excellent things!
Instead, the weeds grew during the rainy season, and I was too busy with other things to really plan a garden. I planted some cauliflower, and both lemon and lime trees, but didn't do anything else. The tomatoes had long gotten out of control, so I dug them up with a heavy heart. The lime tree flourished, but the lemon one did not. The cauliflower grew teeny-tiny flowers, and then stopped.
The one exception to my garden mess was the containers I kept in the front yard. One such container is the aforementioned lime tree. Also out in front my rosemary still grows beautifully, plus I had sage and basil that just recently bit the dust, but was available for awhile.
It seems my big plans should have really been "little plans." I'm so busy with other things that container gardening makes much more sense than attempting a full-blown garden at this time.
Continue on to a Spectrum of Reviews for some information about a company and a non-profit promoting container gardening...
Comments (2)
I know how you feel! i want to start a garden with Pufferfish, and I have such big plans for it, but I decided to start small by trying to plant a bean in a dixie cup! It didn't work! Maybe I should skip the garden?
By the way, my blog has moved because I couldn't afford Typepad any more! I am now at http://slow-down-gym-shoe.blogspot.com.
Posted by Nicki | April 18, 2010 5:06 PM
Posted on April 18, 2010 17:06
In regards to your pear tree and it's wasted fruit drop -there is a movement a foot in Lafayette for "gleaning" -to distribute people's extra bounty to those in need so that it doesn't go to waste. Some of this will be done by the grower bringing their extra to a drop off point (Farmer's Market or Orchard Nursery, I believe) or by volunteers (Boy Scouts, I hear) coming to your home to relieve you of your extra and delivering it to the needy. When I know more exact details I'll let you know. And by the by --I'll take some pears!
Posted by Plumbnest | April 18, 2010 8:41 PM
Posted on April 18, 2010 20:41