Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Sluggy & The Sad State of Her Garden

Well the garden this year has been neglected and most probably will continue to be a half-assed effort.

Right off, when the furry little critters(evil chipmunks)started digging up our seeds, I didn't replant.
Therefore, there will be no squash, beans or cucumbers harvested from my garden this year.

Then I went away for 2+ weeks.
Usually when I am not here, cracking the whip on the other members of the family lovingly encouraging & reminding the rest of the family to water, weed and take care of the garden , nothing gets done......well, except the plants get choked out or die of thirst.

Here is the state of things right before I left, mid July......



Little tiny maters.

Some of the cauliflower plants were doing well......but no heads developing yet.....



My Morning glory vines just starting to climb the bird feed pole.


And other Morning Glories had been "clear cut" by some midsized critters.  Blast!



And the Japanese Beetles had just arrived to eat up the Morning Glories that survived the clear cutting/munching furry critters.



I get back late July and by last Friday, here is what was observed in the garden.....


Some cauliflower plants still hanging in there, a bit beetle eaten.....
 


What you do NOT see in this photo is the cauliflower plant that was photographed above(the 3rd photo down in this post), before I left town.  It was here when I left and now there is no trace of it!  No trace but a small impression in the soil were it was located before some large furry critters pulled the whole thing up, roots and all and carted it off for dinner!


Some maters, still not growing much.....


A tomato plant by the Morning Glory vines, both having been clear-cut Again! by some furry critter(a deer I am betting due to the reach).
Grrrr!
Hubs never put the fencing up around the garden this year.....sigh



The lone red tomato, observed last Friday.   I didn't pick it then and by Sunday it was gone.....your welcomed furry critters.....I hope you choked on it!


The only item the critters haven't touched(yet!)are my onions and they are going like gangbusters.....


My solace in the debacle that my garden is quickly turning into has been my Morning Glories......



See the grains of pollen on the petals in this shot?.....




Oh lookie!
More maters.......


I just hope I can keep the furry critters away from these.  They are up on the deck so I have a fighting chance at least.

How is your garden growing?

Sluggy

14 comments:

  1. Does buying two full-grown basil plants last week count as a garden? Okay, my garden is doing great!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I gave up having my own vegetable garden years ago. Between the bugs and the lil' critters, I'm just not that good at it. I live in farm country and it's easier for me to leave the growing to the professionals. Plus, have you seen the prices at some of these so called 'Farmer's Markets'? Highway robbery.
    I just stick with my local, friendly neighbors. Or Aldi.
    Cheaper that way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've got farms out by me too....if I can get up the energy to drive out there.
      I stick things in the ground and if they live great!....if not? oh well. lolz

      Delete
  3. Our garden is doing pretty good but we don't have any furry critters anywhere in proximity. I get slugs... Can your husband put the closure up right now?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No slugs for us this year.
      Maybe next week he can put the fencing up but at this point, why bother? We'll just feed the wildlife instead.

      Delete
  4. Oh no, poor lone tomato! My manager has a small apple tree... it had 8 apples growing. They were almost ready to be picked. And one morning, they were gone! Cant be the act of animals, so she thinks some kids did it. How horrible!

    ReplyDelete
  5. WOW! You can grow stuff without TRYING!!! Even when I try, it all dies :-(

    Peace <3
    Jay

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lol...you just don't have enough sun in your yard.....chop some of those trees down, but then again, that would make the grass grow and you'd have to mow more. You just can't win! lol

      Delete
  6. Bunnies are eating all of my ornamental cabbage -- apparently they don't understand that it's only for show!

    ReplyDelete
  7. We have more tomatoes than I can handle. I probably pick 10+ a day. I've made 10 batches of tomato sauce, 10 batches of freezer salsa, tomato paella, and I swear, we eat 3 a day. Still not enough. We also have gorgeous green peppers, had a good run with the strawberries, and have a basil plant that's taller than one of the tomato plants. California sunshine. ;-)

    Thought of you today - bought 32 Gatorades today to max out the Rite Aid Up rewards. I thought, Sluggy would be proud!

    One Rite Aid question for you - what do you do (if anything) with the 500 point wellness reward?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well done Grasshopper....lol

      The Wellness Reward? I don't think I even used it last year...since I get free medical diagnostics w/our insurance and I don't read magazines, don't need a gnc card and not ready for Life Alert(lol)yet, I'd prolly go with the restaurant dotcom certificate.

      Now send me some of those tomatoes! ;-)

      Delete
  8. I have not grown tomatoes since I left the farm as a teenager - a long - long time ago - in a land far - far away from here.

    ReplyDelete
  9. My garden is still at the grocery store. Your morning glories are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Can you make a salad out of morning glories?

    ReplyDelete

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