Broken
I had such high hopes for my garden this year. But some things don’t always turn out like you want them to.
Ideation
Look at that! Glorious hillside in mid November, calling out to be turned into a beautiful garden. I came to this house with the permission of the landlord to turn and till and water to my heart’s content; to build a garden like I’ve always dreamed.
It started out well.
The Beginning
Gardening wasn’t that hard, was it? I worked in the greenhouse when I was in High School, mostly growing and selling the basics like squash, tomatoes, and flowers. And when I made raised beds in our backyard with my Dad, we never had a problem. The tomatoes grew vigorously, the squash were prolific, and we enjoyed many months of plenty.
So I was foolhardy and excited for my first garden in seven years. I raided garden centers, grabbing every plant capable of being edible or growing something edible. Tomatillos, yes. Random squash, yes. And when I planted, I threw them into the ground with gusto; I thought I could make mistakes and the plants would grow regardless.
And grow it did…
First major mistake, and I wish I could show a before picture. I knew that hand watering would not water deep enough, but I thought it wouldn’t matter that much until I put in a drip-system. But when I finally shelled out the money for drip-hoses and timers, my garden exploded. Above is the herb garden; green and completely happy. Other plants grew and thrived similarly. I wish that I had put in the watering system earlier so I would have had a quicker boost… I never knew how badly the plants needed water.
There were other mistakes as well.
- Deer. Deer! When I lived in the mountains, deer never touched our tomato plants, but here they were their favorite treat. My plants would be thriving one day and a mess of twigs devoid of their leaves. My hatred for deer was so great that when I saw them strolling the wild area above our house, I yelled and ran after them with rage. Thankful, they ran off rather than confronting me.
- I also discovered that the water boost caused a great growth spurt in all my plants, and the little plants that I put between the big plants were now being enveloped. Note to self: follow spacing requirements next time.
Downfall
And here we are today. The deer have been blocked out of the yard and the vole (?) has moved in. This creature has moved from plant to plant and chewed through the roots.
Deaths, to date:
- 3.5 tomato plants
- 2 squash plants
- 1 watermelon plants
- 3 bean plants
- 1 pepper plant
I am normally opposed to poison but I am rapidly reaching the breaking point. I want this monster gone. There went my glorious dream of fresh garden vegetables all summer; no tomatoes, no beans, nothing.
Here is where I am, and where I will start my writing. I hope I can only go up from here.