I'm sure you've all noticed (humor me) a distinct lack of garden talk this year. That's because there's been a distinct lack of interest by me in the garden this year.
Nope.
I could blame it all on my children--and in fact their tendency to suck all my time and energy is a large part of it--but really it just comes down to the fact that I have not made the garden a priority this year. There are several reasons for this, but one of them is that I feel defeated by it. It's just so big. And so weedy. And I'm so tired all the time.
The MiL did most of the planting in the spring. Then the deer and rabbits showed up and razed the joint. They more or less totally destroyed the tomatoes. And the beets. They've taken nibbles of everything in there, even the peppers.
They sheared off the top layer of leaves on the long row of Dragon Tongue beans I did manage to plant, but they did not actually destroy them. It's a testament to this variety that even with extensive deer damage, they're still producing frightening numbers of beans.
Because I didn't plant enough cucumbers for anything more than fresh eating--and I don't care enough to go buy a bushel of pickling cucumbers for pickles--I decided to make some Dilly Beans.
A summer without some kind of pickle would be a sad summer indeed.
Those four and a half pints of Dilly Beans are most probably going to be the sum total of my canning for this year. I can live with that.
Though I sure do miss having my own canned tomatoes in the winter.
I think that it's been a challenging year for gardening in many places. We have produced TWO tomatoes, and our cherry and apple trees have been eaten up with beetles. Mary in MN
ReplyDeleteI almost didn't get mine planted due health reasons. That sounds all too wimpy, but trust me; there was enough going on to stick me in the hospital unexpectedly - again.
ReplyDeleteBut anyway, if your Boys (plural) want to eat well, they will have to learn to help out in the garden or with the canning. Someday. Maybe. When they grow older.
Oh, man. Life with kids and a new one on the way is tough. And I can't imagine having to battle large herbivores in the garden. The most I get is a wily slug or wayward neighborhood cat that craps in by the pole beans.
ReplyDeleteThere is plenty of time to garden later. You've got bigger fish to fry (sometimes - literally).
Get that woodchuck man on a 6 foot fence, pronto!!
Yeah. I haven't canned much this year at all. I haven't even made *GASP* a single jar of pickles.
ReplyDeleteEven fridge ones!
We'll get them next year, right?