Not that I am any sort of backyard gardener or anything, I am definitely not. Since we retired from the Army I’ve done my part each year to demonstrate that point. I definitely do not have a green thumb when it comes to growing vegetables.
I decided last Spring I was going to expand my vegetable garden, given that those I planted the prior two years were not as productive as I wanted them to be. So, I borrowed my neighbor’s large walk-behind tiller, and spent an entire weekend digging and fertilizing my enlarged plot. I decided to focus on just tomatoes and cucumbers this year, so planting was not that difficult. I then sat back and waited for a bountiful harvest. Alas, that was not to be.
Wet weather in May and June caused the large tulip poplar trees in the backyard to grow larger resulting in less sun for my tomato plants, so they started slowly and looked rather sickly at first. Still, I figured they’d eventually recover. Meanwhile, the expanded garden area that was home for the cucumbers took off like wildfire.
As the summer progressed, so did the cucumber harvest and it was all we could do to eat what we picked. However, the spindly tomato plants looked even more sickly, so I decided to add some Miracle Grow liquid fertilizer; which in the past always gave a needed boost when my plants appeared near death. Not so this year because all I saw was an immediate increase in stem height, with little if any progress elsewhere. Finally, we had a “harvest”: three small tomatoes. At last, the light at the end of the tunnel. Then, enter the absolute worst backyard “pest” in our region of Virginia--a herd of worthless deer.
In one night my sworn enemy (deer) eat all the leaves and budding tomatoes that were struggling to make it. This, even with a wire fence around the plants which was unfortunately not high enough to keep those long-necked critters away. Does this sound like I don’t like deer? You got that right. Only thing they are good for is venison jerky.
So, in summary for this year's growing season, were it not for my neighbors on both sides of us we would not be having any fresh home-grown vegetables this year. Both George and Al (our adjacent neighbors on each side) have, unlike me, green thumbs and whatever they plant always seems to grow well. The photo you see here is one I took yesterday after picking my way through Al’s well manicured, high fenced garden. This is the sort of stuff I wanted to be able to grow!
There’s always next year, and I’ve started planning already. My “new” garden will be protected like Fort Know to keep the grazing deer away, plus I’m going to spend more time reading “how to be a better gardener”. I never had to worry about such things when I was in the Army; but had I done so, perhaps I’d be better at this business today.
