the cabbage sacrifice
i am officially a failure at the garden this year. although i hate to live in the past, last year was incredible. Last year I started the season with tons and tons of awesome radishes. the kind that remind me of when i was a kid... yes, i ate radishes as a kid. radish sandwiches to be exact. sliced radishes between two slices of bread and mayonnaise. sometimes i get a craving...
But then last year i had some really awesome red, yellow, green peppers. i had tomatoes so early they were sweet and tons of them. i had so many tomatoes that i left them on the vine at the end of the year. My lettuce was so fresh, we would pick it each evening and have salads fresh from the garden. i had the greatest garden, and no weeds.
But that was last year.
This isn't last year. sad to say. THIS year is much much different.
This year my radishes bolted and i didn't get ANY. The ground squirrels and rabbits ate all my lettuce. I had a great idea of planting cabbage. red cabbage. i had never done cabbage before, and nobody told me they take up the entire garden! Did I not pay attention to this part in master gardener class? come to think of it, i was sick on the vegetable day. my cabbage took forever to grow (I THOUGHT it was supposed to be a cool season vegetable). Finally, after it was taking over my entire garden, i decided it was time to harvest. wrong. it was either not ripe, or it was overripe. i got 6 teeny tiny heads of cabbage that tasted like bitter disgusting weeds. i sacrificed the cabbage because it was overtaking my tomatoes and i wasn't willing to lose the entire garden. it went into the trash. no cabbage next year.
after the cabbage was gone the rest of the garden could actually be seen. oh yeah, i did plant that oregano that never came up. a lonely label under the cabbage plant. and the basil was so covered, i didn't realize it was going to seed.
What can i salvage from this garden? there are still LOTS of tomatoes. and i made the mistake of taking shawn with me when we picked out the plants. so i also have jalapenos. i don't know what we're going to do with them, but they are growing. i guess i can make salsa. what else do you do with jalapenos?
But then last year i had some really awesome red, yellow, green peppers. i had tomatoes so early they were sweet and tons of them. i had so many tomatoes that i left them on the vine at the end of the year. My lettuce was so fresh, we would pick it each evening and have salads fresh from the garden. i had the greatest garden, and no weeds.
But that was last year.
This isn't last year. sad to say. THIS year is much much different.
This year my radishes bolted and i didn't get ANY. The ground squirrels and rabbits ate all my lettuce. I had a great idea of planting cabbage. red cabbage. i had never done cabbage before, and nobody told me they take up the entire garden! Did I not pay attention to this part in master gardener class? come to think of it, i was sick on the vegetable day. my cabbage took forever to grow (I THOUGHT it was supposed to be a cool season vegetable). Finally, after it was taking over my entire garden, i decided it was time to harvest. wrong. it was either not ripe, or it was overripe. i got 6 teeny tiny heads of cabbage that tasted like bitter disgusting weeds. i sacrificed the cabbage because it was overtaking my tomatoes and i wasn't willing to lose the entire garden. it went into the trash. no cabbage next year.
after the cabbage was gone the rest of the garden could actually be seen. oh yeah, i did plant that oregano that never came up. a lonely label under the cabbage plant. and the basil was so covered, i didn't realize it was going to seed.
What can i salvage from this garden? there are still LOTS of tomatoes. and i made the mistake of taking shawn with me when we picked out the plants. so i also have jalapenos. i don't know what we're going to do with them, but they are growing. i guess i can make salsa. what else do you do with jalapenos?
Comments
Our cucumbers are taking over our garden. They are even climbing up the tomatoes. Darn those invasive plants.
Happy gardening Master Gardener.