The Constant Gardner Returns: The Tortoise And The Hare

The race is on in the garden competition but pleased as I am with my results so far, it also feels somewhat like the "Tortoise and the Hare." I have gotten off to a blazing start and yet Daddy seems strangely unconcerned. As usual, click each photo for a better view.

True, I am still somewhat a novice but I learned a good deal last year so you would think he would at least consider me a threat this year. But he is very slowly beginning to think about what he wants to plant this year and plowing under his winter greens.


Oh well, I have gotten a fast start and plan to enjoy it. As this current shot shows, despite the early heat my crop has really taken off.

A back view illustrates that my greens are already a good size. Twice a week now I go out to break off leaves to use for a meal.

I love this time of year and Squash. Their blooms are like magic as they appear in all their glory and just as quickly disappear.

The photo below was taken a few hours later and the flower has begun to fade. I guess that is what makes the first one even more precious.

The cucumbers too have taken off. I'm looking forward to the little game I played last year of lifting a leaf and finding a hiding cucumber ready for a salad. They were a favorite because there was always the element of surprise followed by a juicy treat.

Tomatoes are my largest crop this year as I doubled the number of plants. Unlike the cucumbers I can't pick them just yet but there is a wave of Early Girl tomatoes that has begun to build.








And so gang, I may not know what tricks Daddy has up his sleeves for this year's competition but this little hare is going to keep running as fast as she can. Don't look back he may be gaining on me!

American Gothic...The Harvest !

When I started on this farming adventure I will now admit I was more than ignorant and to a great extent made a good number of mistakes. But, along the way also made a number of discoveries and have come out on the other side a wiser farmer who truly can now enjoy the harvest! As always, click each photo for a better view.

Every morning I rise to go into the backyard and pick vegetables for the day and it feels just as I had imagined.

The sprinkler system has made watering effortless as it doles out the allotted ration for the day. There have been a few casualties along the way though. The Summer squash got a fungus and had to be pulled up. It produced squash but the fungus would cause them to rot before they reached even a decent size.

But the sweet corn is doing just great despite an attack of corn beetles (had to do a little reading to get rid of them) and corn is forming all over. By the 4th of July there should be corn on the cob for everyone.

The tomatoes are great but a surprising treat has been the cucumbers. They are sweet and juicy unlike what I have experienced from the supermarket. Sometimes I go out to cut a few and eat one as I am picking. I have placed them in cages so they grow up rather than out and it is always fun to lift the leaves looking for the juicy wonder!

The monster crop of spaghetti squash has just now begun taking off and I have made sketches of the barrier I plan to erect to separate them from the rest of the crop.

But, the watermelons have begun to spread just as much. I find it funny that one day you see this little thing the size of a marble and a few days later it turns into the makings of a melon. Very strange and wonderful indeed!

But, more than anything, I have new found respect for what real farmers go through on a larger scale. And, Daddy has not admitted defeat just yet but even he has given grudging respect to the work I put in to produce my harvest...