In a recent post I explained the disaster of July 2024 my garden.
My young friend (31) who was helping had to quit before he finished what I needed done. I had hoped to get the entire garden covered with straw.
As upsetting as that was I knew I would have to accept it until such time as I’m able to do something about it. (I’ve always hauled the straw myself.)
For years I’ve worked my garden and borders without help and it always seemed easy. In the growing season my outdoor time was spent harvesting and maybe pulling an occasional unwanted piece of grass.
Mulching was the top reason things were so easy.
(More of my secrets and tips to make things easier are all through this website!)
There are so many reasons for mulching. Ten of them I listed in a post written in 2010.
For many other benefits and information on mulching click here to see a list of 29 other posts on that subject.
Why this year has been the hardest in my life (physically)
After my injury of last July putting one foot in front of the other is harder than I ever imagined it could be. To accomplish anything in my 2 to 3 hours outside, staying in basically one area is necessary.. Thus, much has to be left undone until I can work my way through the garden.
In the Jungle of growth there is a pot of Gold
My garden doesn’t look like my garden this year because it’s so “grown up”. But there is a pot of gold to be had with what has grown. Almost everything growing there can be returned to the soil to feed the soil life that ends up feeding my plants. And the diversity of what is growing is a good change for my soil and will contribute different nutrients.
Here’s my plan if my young friend can help me again in October
Before he comes I’ll try to have all tall plants like wild lettuce (that I allow in my garden) already cut down.
I will then designate areas that he can cut with a weedwacker. A thick layer of straw will go on top of the cuttings.
The only “not so good” thing I see from my plan
Some unwanted plants have seeded. Thus, I’ll have to be on the alert when seed germinates next year to keep the garden in the future free of those unwanted plants.
If you don’t mulch I don’t know how you continue to garden year after year
It is one of the things (if not the most important one) to keep gardening easy and doable. Had my young friend been able to get enough straw to the garden before quitting – I would not be having as difficult a time.
AND I would most likely not have to have his help again this fall.
August 2025 disaster-garden report
NOTE: You can click on pictures to enlarge them.
Tomatoes
Most of my tomatoes volunteered this year. I did plant two seedlings of Big Beef.
I have “cherry” tomatoes that I’ve developed over the years that get as big as a small regular tomatoes and taste as good as the big tomatoes.
(I don’t enjoy the taste of tiny cherry tomatoes as much as the large tomatoes.)
Since I was too slow to get seedlings started from my saved seed I just let the tomatoes volunteer every where so I’d be sure to have tomatoes. As fruit started forming it was easy to tell if they were regular size, or small cherry tomatoes, or my large “cherry” tomatoes.
August tomatoes and a few of the large “cherry” tomatoes developed over the years.
Cucumbers
They’re mostly finished. But I’m always hoping for that unexpected one or two that might surprise me. (While in season I eat 2 or 3 a day along with 6 to 12 tomatoes a day.)
As I’ve explained there has not been as much diversity this year as I usually have. For a while there I was limited to cucumbers and tomatoes and garlic for meals each day. Delicious, but it would have been nicer to have had carrots, beets, green beans, onions to add to the mix.
Cucumbers
Garlic
Sadly, all that remains of my garlic harvest is shown below. I could easily use a bulb each day if I had an abundance. But I’ve rationed and used only two to four cloves a day.
On a happier note my long time friend and reader Julie (in Utah) emailed me saying she was going to send me some of her abundance of garlic once it finished curing.
If Julie could only know how happy that made me!!
All that remains of my sparse harvest of garlic.
Potatoes
No pictures because I’m not able to get to them yet.
However a week or so ago I came across a few that I fixed for that evening’s meal. They were delicious.
Carrots
Didn’t think my carrots were going to germinate but they finally did. When I finally got to them it was exciting to see such lush growth. I pulled a baby carrot: it was beautiful and delicious.
I couldn’t get back to them for a month. Most had disappeared. What remained was dry and shriveled. It had not rained and there was not enough mulch to keep what moisture had been there.
Carrots and volunteer tomatoes close by.
Beets
Germinated. Then disappeared.
Cantaloupe
I was so excited when I found two cantaloupes that appeared to have recently detached from the vine.
Iroquois Cantaloupe – One plant produced 3 melons. This is the third. Still in the garden.
They were beautiful inside and out.. But what a disappointment when I tasted one. No taste at all. The only good thing was the water in it that was, I feel sure, better than any water I have access too.
When I was looking for the seed I could only put my hands quickly on the variety Iroquois. I wanted to find Pride of Wisconsin. It produced last year but had matured and rotted by the time I was able to get to them.
Hopefully when that variety ends up in my garden again, it will taste like the cantaloupe I remember from years ago rather than the tasteless Iroquois of this year.
Spaghetti squash
I’ve not had spaghetti squash since years before Bill died in 2015.
The area shown below is one of the areas I had enough straw to cover.
I planted several spaghetti squash plants there and the cantaloupe. Some of the honeynut squash made their way into that area as well.
My plan was to stake the honeynuts but I was just too slow to get the job done.
Spaghetti squash quickly covered the area shown above, along with the one cantaloupe plant. Note the young sqiuash on the left above
These squash are cream color until they start to mature. Then they begin to turn yellow as shown in the second picture below.
Spaghetti Squash – not mature – but still eatable.
Maturing spaghetti squash.
If you intend to keep the squash for awhile, it would be best to let the stem shrivel and dry first. But allow the 3 inch stem to remain on the squash for better keeping.
To learn how I like to prepare them see this post.
Christmas Limas
Because of not being able to walk at all in July last year I lost all my Christmas limas.
Here are the ones that came up this year from seed that fell last year and germinated this spring.
The picture was taken from a distance of about 15 feet. I’ve not yet been able to get to them yet because of thick vegetation and my inability to negotiate my way through it. Hope to get there by next week.
I’m anxious to see if I have some mature limas. A dear friend sent the seed to me – so I’m anxious to get a good crop and save more seed.
Christmas limas, zinnia volunteers from last year and lots of other vegetation.
Peppers
peppers blooming
Peppers – although always slow growing in my garden until the end of August- seem to enjoy a long period to grow. They sure didn’t get it this year.
It was the end of June when the seed was started and the first or second week of July before they were transplanted to the garden.
Wasn’t sure I’d get any peppers!
The two plants above are especially beautiful. I wanted to show the entire plants but couldn’t position myself to get anything but the tops. But as you can see they are loaded with blooms and tiny peppers.
When I realized that a total of 13 half sized peppers were maturing further down the plants I literally shouted for joy! I can hardly wait to add them to my meals.
Four o’clocks
My friend who sent the Christmas Lima seed to me also sent me seed for these wonderful four o’clocks.
I enjoyed them so much that I decided to let them seed and volunteer in the garden. The ones shown below were knocked over, but normally the plants are 2 to 3 feet tall.
Four o’clocks
Love Zinnias in my Garden
Volunteer Zinnias. Plantain and the four o’cloxks are on the right.
Honeynut squash
After tasting honeynuts I will NEVER grow butternut squash again!
If you stake honeynuts they don’t take so much room. You can grow a lot more in small space that way.
Was not physically able to do it this year.
These little squash are so sweet and delicious. and very easy to fix. For more information and how to roast them see this post.
Honeynut squash. This one is twice the size of most honeynuts.
The mature ones shown below are the size of most. Make sure the entire squash has turned the color of those shown below before you harvest. I made the mistake one year of harvesting one that had a little green striping still remaining. It was bitter rather than sweet.
Mature Honey Nut Squash – This is the color they’ll be when mature. If they have any green on them they’ll be bitter. (At least that was my experience.)
Watermelon
The day this picture was taken I was trying to work my way further up the garden to check the onions mentioned in the spring update post. Hopefully more spaghetti squash is there as well.
From a distance of 15 feet or more I saw another watermelon. Yippee!
Watermelon
Final Thoughts
If you’re having troubles or are maybe discouraged about what you’re not able to do – I hope this post has been encouraging to you.
Even in the worst of times we can get food from our gardens if we have and are making every effort to work with nature.
Sometimes it may not be as much diversity as we usually have – but even in difficult times it will still sustain us.
I remind myself daily to never underestimate the power of a little. It might not seem like it, but that’s how the biggest of tasks can still be accomplished.
Wishing you all the best life has to offer!
Theresa
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Theresa, It’s been a long, long time since we’ve exchanged texts. I was so excited to read your August update post with the reminder about mulch. I was working in my garden yesterday and as I was watering after checking the deep moisture, I was regretting that I hadn’t done a better job of laying down straw this year. I ran out and rather than pick up more, went with a thin layer strewn under my plants.
I learned a lot from your veggie by veggie update and the photos!! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.
Glad you could get a harvest. It is encouraging. Because of my knees, I didn’t get much planted until August. Last week got the first sungold tomatoes, found by my grandsons while they were harvesting blackberries. Beans are just reaching up the trellis, as are cucumbers. Squash plants are just settling in, although I have a volunteer in a crack in the driveway that has a fruit on it. Where a lot of beans did not emerge, I planted peas. Thinking of my garden as a fall one. First frost is around Thanksgiving, so there is time to get some harvest.
Most of the six foot weeds are gone, thanks to a neighboring teenager who wanted money for stylish sneakers and clothes. Still have a small corner to do. Almost out of mulch, and the feedstore that delivered the hay bales closed down. Hoping to find a new one.
Getting a knee replacement in a few months and hope I am in good enough shape to plant on time next year. I am hoping my friend that helped me with planting (and taking care of the chickens) will be available next year. Sometimes when you age, you just need to get help for what you can no longer do yourself. As long as I can manage to grow anything, I’ll be happy.
Always Inspiring Theresa. I hope as I get older (I’m 62) I will be able to have the same resolve you do to just make it work no matter what! Mulching: Oh man! There’s no comparison. I started mulching 5 years ago after a lifetime of just letting the soil stay bare. Yeah, the wheat, barley, or oat seeds that come with straw mulch are a nightmare at times, but they don’t really hurt anything if you don’t get to pull them before they get bigger. After I began mulching it wasn’t long until I began to see double and triple the amount of earthworms, helpful garden spiders, and insects I’ve never seen before (all good ones… to me a good insect is one that doesn’t eat my plants!). Not to mention, that mulch also makes weeding almost a moot thing. I rarely, if ever, have to weed except for a few pesky things like elm tree seedlings that come up everywhere because my neighbor has an elm tree that typically blows untold thousands of seeds into my garden. Sigh. Haha. I pray you are able to continue healing Theresa. People like you, who know how to be self-sufficient, are becoming a rare commodity and we need you.
So very sorry that you’ve been somewhat sidelined. I’ve sidelined myself because of poisonous snakes in my yard. For the past two years I’ve held off from planting anything, even flowers. However, yesterday I bought some orphaned perennial flowers and feel determined to get them established. If I had a companion who wasn’t afraid to relocate snakes, it would be a piece of cake. It would be too long a comment to explain why I feel this way. More power to you, Theresa for standing up to your challenges.
Such a wonderful post! I wish we were neighbors so I could help some! I planted collards, turnips, beets and rutabaga seeds today. I had forgotten how hard that is on my back (lol). After resting and some cold water, I felt so happy for the accomplishment. I certainly admire your determination and dedication! Best regards!
How deep is your straw. I think mine is not deep enough though the soil stays dogt and friable down about 6”. I am using a maddoc to did down to keep adding another inch or so of soft soil. When I venture off a path I immediately know as I sink into the softer soil. lol. It has been a very hot dry summer and I fear I should have watered more
Theresa, thank you for this beautiful and encouraging report! Lots of ups and downs, but as always you try to focus on the ‘ups’ more than the ‘downs’. You’re inspiring.
Thank you for showing everyone a real life example of how this is in fact very true: “Even in the worst of times we can get food from our gardens if we have and are making every effort to work with nature.”
I also wish I lived closer to you to be able to help!!