Squashing Negativity

I was extemely eager to start gardening our new lot this year. Though I said we would do inside first and outside later, come spring, I was itching to plant. I had Mac out tilling up part of the field for a vegetable garden starting around April first -truly a fool's thing to do as the ground was still too wet and the temperatures too cold. Nonetheless, I started planting seeds and starts during this still chilly weather.

Soon after this Mac and I began taking regular strolls through the garden. We'd survey the land, talk, and most importantly, check on the plant progess. Somewhere toward the end of May, our veggie starts were still extremely stunted, the bean seedlings had been devoured by slugs, the blueberries and roses were still dormant and the weeds were more robust than anything we had actually planted.

"Our garden sucks!" Mac proclaimed.

"This year is just experimental. Anything we get is a bonus and we've learned a lot for next year," I tried to reassure Mac.

"Our garden still sucks." Mr. Negativity strikes again.

Two months, lots of sun and an automatic irrigation system later, the garden is looking much better. It's still not the exuberant and lush vegetable bounty that we envision and the weeds still seem to grow faster than anything else, but we have been harvesting plenty.

The peas did fantastic. A cool season veggie, they were probably the one thing that relished the early planting time.

We replanted the beans in late May. The warmer temperatures and a healthy dose of slug bait made a big difference. We might not be canning this year, but some of the plants are stretching above the 8 foot fence and a few beans are setting.

The tomatoes are kind of pathetic. The neighbors warned that tomatoes are tough here because of the cool nights. But the 'early cascade' seems to be living up to its name and breeding, and we've gotten 4 or 5 tomatoes with many green ones loading the vines.

There are 4 pumpkins, 2 spaghetti squash and a few other smaller ones ripening on the vines. Our zucchini and crookneck are nowhere near as prolific as normal, but we don't really mind this. We've also gotten a few white bush squash, but I am not sure what to do with these.

There is more than enough basil.

There are a couple of softball sized watermelons out there. I consider this a huge success as I never even had the tiniest of fruits form in Portland.

The blueberries and cane berries have a lot of new growth. I expect to get at least a few handfuls of berries next year. This'll certainly make Megan happy as "beshies" are one of her favorite foods.

So our garden might not be a pretty sight and it is a long way from perfect, but I don't think it totally sucks.