Feeling bummed about this years' harvest....or lack there of...

[rd200]

Hey everyone! its been a while since ive been on here, ive been very busy and preoccupied. I just need to vent I guess. Im SO bummed about my garden this year. Things were SO incredibly dry from Mid-May til August that nothing grew decent despite my watering efforts (with city water, which didnt help) the stuff that did grow okay got pests/insects SO bad it killed alot of my plants. The only thing that did good was my tomatoes. They acutally look the best now than they did all summer. And now its getting to the point where they are going to be hit by frost soon (end of the week, decent freeze) and there are SO many tomatoes on the plants and none of them are ripening. I can pick them all and bring them in and hope they ripen,but i didnt have much luck wtih that last year.

Im just feeling so defeated. I had BIG PLANS this year to do ALOT of canning and such and now i just feel like it was a wasted summer. I only got....
3 quarts of pickles (pathetic)
12 quarts of salsa
12 quarts of tomato juice
5 pints of dilly beans
4 yogurt containers of frozen green beans

thats all. I did do alot of jam in the beggning of the year with purchased berries.

I totally lost ambition thru out the summer. I got pregnant with twins in August and have had horrible nauseous the whole time. So that added about 2hrs onto my work everyday cuz i felt so crappy. So i had less time for weeding and tending to my plants also. That was part of the problem too.

I have such big dreams of being completely or pretty close to self-sufficent and having this wonderful farmstead ( I grew up on a farm and work on one) and doing everything for myself and my family and it just seems like if i cant even get a Garden right, how the heck am i going to do this.. I will admit im MUCH better with animals than gardening!!!

I will have more time the next few years as I am quitting my job for good pretty soon. But then ill have an 11yr old, 2 1/2 yr old and Newborn twins. Not sure ill get ANY gardening done next year!!

Sorry, I sound like such a complainer now. Just frustrated with myself i guess for letting the whole growing season slip away. Im thinking of doing a cold frame this winter since im quiting work in about a month. Not sure what i can all plant in it though. Thanks for letting me vent to you all.............

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Vent away! If it makes you feel any better - my garden was a bust this year too. Hang in there, sometimes 'life' gets in the way of your plans, but things have a way of working out. On the bright side - in a few years you'll have lots of good helpers!

 

[mississippifarmboy]

A lot of us had a bad year.
Vent away.

I can't even imagine twins!

Just remember everything has a reason and next year can be better.

 

[Dawn419]

Another one with a miserable garden season, who totally commiserates with your venting!

It started for us in mid-April, it was 92F here on April 19th of this year...I have pix of snow on that day from several years ago (in a different state).

I decided last winter, that I'd start all of the veggie plants that the family wanted to grow this year from seed, to help save us all some money. That was a major fail and after my third round of resowing seeds, only to watch them either burn up in 115F+ temps and getting the water bill for $75.00 (with nothing plant-wise to show for it and it's usually $20 - $25 a month), I just tucked my tail and retreated to the comforts of the air conditioning.

As far as the cold frame, what zone are you in and we can go from there on what you can grow in it.

Congrat's on the twins and it's good to have you back with us!

 

[Corn Woman]

We all get a turn at terrible harvests and when that happens I tell myself " There is always next year". You did get some things canned up and thats a plus. You can find green tomato recipes you might like and give them a try. The small ones done the same way as dill pickles are tasty. Green tomato relish and salsa perhaps?

 

[Rebbetzin]

At least you were able to put up some things. The only thing that did well this year in my garden was Basil. I was able to make some Pesto and can it.

I got ONE very small scallop squash. A few tomatoes, only enough to use in salads. Even my chickens are not laying!!

 

[FarmerChick]

CONGRATS on the twins. That is surely a handful.

You really have to work a garden. Or it can get away from you. With being sick and tired with the twins it is understandable you couldn't keep up. No one would.

Quitting work!!!! Yes even with twins you will probably have time for a decent garden next year. WELL, maybe there is a 2 1/2 yr old thrown in there also. woof!!lol


HANG IN THERE. it is all good!

 

[Denim Deb]

If it makes you feel any better, I never really got my garden in. We had a ground hog and hubby kept putting off putting up the fence-and he didn't want me to do it by myself. So, by the time he finally got around to it, it was really too late. The few plants that did manage to get in there haven't really done anything. So, other than some pumpkin from volunteer plants, I'm not looking to get ANYTHING out of my garden.

 

[bjmstahl]

Congratulations on the twins RD!

As to the garden issues, I have experienced the same thing. I planted 5 rows of green beans but with the dry weather and the bugs I managed to get a pint size plastic bag of beans. I did manage to harvest a decent but not great crop of broccoli, hot chili peppers and green peppers. I put out 26 tomato plants (3 different types) and only the Roma did OK. But the suprise in my garden was the swiss chard. The weather and the bugs didn't seem to bother it and I have harvested a dozen pint size plastic bags for freezing (after sauteing) and given away 3 cuttings and this was from 8 plants. It is still going strong. I plan to plant more than 8 plants next year.

I decided to plant a fall garden and it is doing pretty well - carrots, broccoli, cabbage and lettuce. I also tried planting more green beans so hopefully I will be harvesting some beans this year.

This has been a bad year for alot of gardeners and farmers. But there is always next year. Besides, something wonderful did happen this year! Your babies!

 

[Wannabefree]

Same here on the garden. I had my kids out there helping: the neighbors 3 yr. old twins, my teen, and the neighbors teenager, and we STILL got nothing much to speak of out of that garden. Congrats on the babies, twins really are fun!! I hope you at least have a small garden you can manage this next year Look on the bright side, SOMETHING will be growing come Spring, the little ones will be here by then, and that's something not everyone can grow I can't But just think of all the future gardens that they will be learning and out there helping, and the good food you'll be putting into their little bodies....what a blessing!