We had a lot going on last year.
Finishing the barn. Getting our house ready to sell. Selling said house.
We had such big dreams and plans for the garden at the barn last year. We put a lot of work and money into getting that garden in the ground in the spring.
We ended up having to buy more plants than we expected because I wanted to fill the whole garden.
And honestly, it was pretty much a womp-womp time for us.
It’s 100 percent our faults. We were so busy that we didn’t spend the necessary time any time weeding and watering and caring for the garden.
It was far too big to really maintain. Especially since we didn’t live there.
Bottom line – we got in over our heads.
Not a huge surprise. We do it all the time.
At the end of last fall, the garden looked something like this. You can barely spy the toddler hiding this all those weeds. (He loved the garden – slash – weeds.)
But, we actually did get a decent harvest of some produce –
- Cherry tomatoes
- Roma tomatoes
- Jalapeño peppers
- Green beans (SO MANY GREEN BEANS.)
- Cucumbers
We also should have had a great pumpkin crop, but they were almost all destroyed by bugs. We only ended up with one bloody squash. And the snap peas were abysmal.
We grew the green beans up the corn stalks. Which would have been great, except the beans overpowered most of the corn.
Except these pretty strawberry popcorn. Aren’t they so pretty?
I took these pictures last fall in the old house and never shared them. Shame on me. I love these.
As you may know, we have a lot going on in 2015 this year, too. We are getting ready to start building a house, after all. And while we still want to have a garden this year, we’re trying to be more practical.
So, we started fewer seeds (using the same system as last year).
And this year’s plan focuses on the following plants (and fewer of them):
- Tomatoes
- Pumpkins
- Cucumbers
- Snap peas
- Green beans
- Lettuce
- Corn
- Snap peas
Hopefully living in the barn will help us stay on top of keeping up the garden – weeding, watering and harvesting. Only time will tell.
What’s your garden plan for this year?
Have you ever failed at gardening?
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Lisa H. says
I love when you do posts like this! It does the heart good to know awesome people make mistakes, too.
We planted sunflowers last summer, and we DID get them to sprout, so I was feeling super proud. Then, sadly, my kiddo lost interest in watering them, and they all dried up (because we live in a desert).
Good luck with growing things!
Sara says
Yes, I usually fail. Last summer I had one green pepper plant that never produced anything, a jalapeno plant that got eaten by a rabbit right before it was going to produce, and the only things that actually did well were a PUMPKIN plant we didn’t even put there, and mint that we also inherited. I had a black thumb last year for sure!
Kenz @ Interiors By Kenz says
Gardening is hard. I try so hard to make it work and I fail. I bought some lilacs last week. They are already dead. I couldn’t keep them alive. BOO.
Amber @ Wills Casa says
A garden was definitely on our to do list. It’s not looking likely but I won’t give up the dream just yet!
Katja | Shift Ctrl Art says
I love those strawberry popcorn. Have you tried popping some? I tried that once with home grown popcorn. Best popcorn ever 🙂
cassie says
i stay away from our garden except to pick the fruits of chris’ labor. and there’s a reason.
Ally says
We will be doing our second garden this year. I was surprised by how much success we had last year! We decided against corn this yer though. Took up too much space, didn’t taste great and the overly aggressive squirrels in our yard got most of it. We are going to expand and include a sunflower house inside the fence so the rabbits don’t get it this year :0)
daisy says
Gardening is always a gamble. Depending on the weather, the bugs, the time one has to do those pesky tasks like weeding, etc. It’s all a learning process.
I am in the midst of redesigning my garden beds so that I can grow more food. We also grow certain plants for caterpillars, because we give them away on Craig’s List to educate folks on the life cycle of butterflies. I will be making my own soil this week for the first time and planting my beds this weekend. Can’t hardly wait!
I look forward to seeing your garden grow. Happy spring!
Kayla AKA Kilo Bravo says
I am sooo excited/intimidated to start our first real garden this year. We’ve already determined it has to be a front yard garden based on our sun situation and I’m already nervous about how the neighbors are going to feel (we live in your typical suburban neighborhood) so in addition to being fruitful I’m also concerned with curb appeal. But I’m excited regardless! I just keep trying to remind myself to start small and we can expand next year. Now you’ve got me thinking I should start seeds instead of buying plants since they always come in packs of 6 and we probably don’t want that many of most items this year. **cue gears turning in mind** And now I’m also thinking I want a corn patch in the backyard because that corn is adorable. Decisions, decisions!!
Megan says
Have you considered adding vegetable plants into any existing flower beds in your front yard? Two small patches of bush beans in between some flowers and no ones the wiser. it’s beneficial to plant certain flowers with veggies (Google it for more info). Container gardens are a great way to grow veggies too, especially if you’re trying to avoid a big rectangle garden looking silly in the front yard 🙂
Kayla AKA Kilo Bravo says
Hi Megan – yes I definitely plan to incorporate lots of flowers to hide the fact that it’s really my vegetable garden! I know companion gardening is out there – I just need to do my research to figure out what goes best with what. Thanks for the ideas!
michelle@decorandthedog says
We’re trying our hand at our very first garden this year. I’m sure I’ll lose interest by June. I’m thinking potatoes, onions and now green beans. Since it appears I green beans are hard to kill. 😉 If my garden fails, I’ll just head to the barn!
Gretchen says
I have USUALLY failed at gardening. Except green beans. What is it about green beans? Why are they so impossible to fail at?! This year Gus wants a green bean teepee, though; we’re determined to make it harder than it needs to be 🙂