Let's just start with the fact that normally my gardens do very well.... that being said, my garden this year is dreadful. Going back to previous years, I have generally grown enough vegetables to make two home-made batches of salsa and eat summer squash for supper every night for a few months. Last year I also grew carrots for the first time, which turned out great. As well as small watermelons, green beans, and green peppers.
Speaking of green peppers - my current pepper plants are pictured below. Raise your hand if you think they will produce anything......... yup didn't think so.
If we are being honest here, and I promise I am, I didn't necessarily prepare my garden the best this year; or at all really. This was my first time planting in a community lot (since we moved to base in the winter last year). I had friends tell me about the downfalls of planting on base, but I really wanted my garden and figured with my wonderful past experiences with gardening that I would be fine. Okay lets be real, I was so self-assured that I could grow a garden in any condition I ignored their warnings. Like the two biggest ones: 'there is no shelter out there and plants tend to blow over due to North Dakota's chaotic weather' or 'prairie dogs enjoy digging holes through the community garden lots'. It doesn't matter how green your thumb is, your tomato plant isn't going to stay standing in a field of endless wind unless you bind it and help it. This year I have four tomato plants (pictured below), two roma plants and two dakota big boy or something like that, otherwise known as regular tomatoes.
My onions are doing great (terrible picture below, but you get the point). My grandmother gave me onion bulbs to plant this year and they are working gloriously so far. Oh! A big thing I forgot to mention, this is one of those 'what not to do' moments; don't plant your entire garden five days before going on vacation for two weeks. This is another reason that not preparing for a garden didn't work for me this year. I had two caring friends that watered it while I was gone, and with it being a community garden some parts got watered when my neighbor gardener watered hers. But of course, with my luck, the weather while we were gone ranged from 80-101 degrees, so it needed more water for sure. Before I had left for vacation a prairie dog had already made a path under a tomato plant, but I didn't do anything about it because my garden was close to the last thing on my mind before leaving to take a cruise to the Bahamas. Also a disadvantage to leaving for two weeks, the weeds consumed my 10x20 foot lot. The weeds are so bad that I'm not even weeding anymore; well I pulled the really big ones, and the ones that were growing dangerously close to my plants, but I'm leaving the rest. If my garden was able to survive through a month of neglect then it can fight off some pretty green weeds.
Today I spent an hour with my garden, weeding and watering it. I took my book out there and let the sprinkler run for a good thirty minutes. There are picnic tables set up close by that I relaxed in and read. The only plants that are thriving right now, and by that I mean growing at all and hardly surviving, are my four tomato plants, a row of onions, one pumpkin plant (from seed), and one summer squash plant (from seed).
Gardening Advice
Advice #1 - Listen to others who have tried planting in your area before, they know more then you do.
Advice #2 - Use something to support tall plants such as tomatoes. Twist tying them to wooden stakes seems to be common around here. I do have tomato cages up which are helping; however, I don't have the plant tied to it so it's not the most effective.
Advice #3 - Make sure you're going to be around to take care of your garden.
Advice #4 - Commit to your garden. It needs your love and care. Almost like raising a child. Or a dog. Or fish. Just give it some of your valuable time.
Advice #5 - Keep up with weeding, once you let a few weeds stay they multiply like Queen Bees in mating season. Useless fact: Bees are only pregnant for 2-3 weeks. Crazy.
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