VEGETABLE GARDEN – MAY 28

Well we are 2 weeks into our 2014 garden and we’ve been able to enjoy the first fruits (or vegetables) of our labor.  The lettuce was delicious, even though only one out of the 2 kids thought so!

We are discovering very early on that we will be fighting vermin all season if we have any hope of getting our crops to harvest. Unfortunately the critters we found to be destroying the garden are our dogs! Not just the puppy either … I keep finding my 12 year old Pointer standing all 4’s inside the tiered bed or digging in the pots. This from a dog that has never dug a hole in her life!  I’m pretty sure she is smelling the compost and it’s something she wants to eat.  We have lost at least half our beans so far.  The other issue is where we put a lot of care into setting up the beds and pots with separate layers of compost and soil, that is all thoroughly mixed together at this point.  Although seeing the puppy running around the yard with her head stuck in the fence section was almost worth the lost veggies!

On the plus side, everything (except the beans) is putting on a lot of new growth. Watering requirements have been minimal with all of the wet weather over the past week, although they would benefit from more sun.  I will be beefing up the fencing around the garden and will put the cucumbers and carrots we’re germinating into the spots were we lost the beans. (Pictured here – Carrots and cucumbers germinating in Jiffy pods)Stay tuned for more...