The End of a Long Summer
I haven’t been on here in over a year. Ive been super busy. Last year, I graduated from college. In June, I found a new job. The rest of 2011 and most of 2012 have been an adjustment to my new job and new schedule. I used to think that once I graduated, I would have plenty of time to garden, but that couldnt be farther from the truth. I still love to garden. Most of us anticipate having more time, but on the contrary, life just fills up that empty space with more “stuff.” What Ive learned is that just like farmers, there are some years that will be “a good harvest.” Id like to think of the good years as years that are fruitful, the weather is favorable, water is plentiful and pests are at a minimal. While they do exist, they do not come often or atleast on a consecutive basis. You also have your bad years. 2011 was more of a bad year because I had no time to garden and even when I did, it was extremely hot and dry outside. Gardening in 2011 felt more of a burden and it is probably because I had more plants than I could handle. For 2012, I have to say that it has been a moderate to favorable year. We had great rainfall despite the rest of the U.S. This year I grew my usual herbs, adding stevia, pineapple sage, lemon balm and several types of basil to the mix. As far as vegetables, I have to say that this year was good, but limited. My heirloom tomatoes came out well, bell peppers were modest in amount, but they also came out well. Green beans came out great even though I had no trellis and did not plant enough. The catepillars ravaged my collards and brussell sprouts so next year I plan to cheat a little and buy them as potted plants first. I also experimented with several new plants around my yard and finally had my deck built. Pictures will come as I start back blogging. Thanks for being so patient. Time to plan for 2013!!! 🙂