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Category: My first Gardening experiences | Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 1:13 pm

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Last year was my first time ever planting a garden. I've tinkered from time to time with some plants and I had potted plants on my patio and a few palms and hibiscus in the yard, but I actually went all out, I even made a composter and did a lot of research about organic gardening and companion planting. I placed poted marigolds all around the back yard to attrack lady bugs and bought cosmo seeds and planted them in pots as well.
I had a huge back yard at the house were renting so I set out three beds, one along the house but I stopped it before the drip line. I ran lava rocks along the drip line in hopes that it would look nice and not washed out and I hoped to help regulate some of the water so the plants wouldn't drown in the heavy rains. I put trellis on one side and bought some marigolds and herbs and spread them out along with some green beans, pole variety on the right with the trellis and bush on the left. I learned that the pole type grew more quickly then the bush, but the bush had less problems. I had a decent amount from my four bush plants and only got 3 beans total off my 8 pole plants! I also purchased a bonnie hot banana pepper plant that produced in that bed a great deal, but the seeds from it won't germinate. :( I had marigolds in and around all my beds and they all suffered from some sort of rust type fungus. My pole beans had those little green worms from the white moth and after I stopped that by picking them all off by hand trying to be organic(that didn't last), then they got blight or fungus. The weather was just hot wet humid I couldn't win. Then my whole bed was infected with fungus and I had no control over the rain. I finally gave and bought some scary stuff to kill the fungus, I lost my marigolds :( and then the pole beans just died. My bush beans survived that whole summer of hell but they looked raggidy, but I did get a decent crop from them once.
My second bed only three feet in front of the other one was rectangular and I had marigolds on the corners before the demise of this bed. I also had 3 long rows of corn aprox 30 something plants. That's all that I planted there and I had back up baby corn plants in pots on my porch cause the squirells occasionally snagged one and id replace it. Then I put a bowl of water out for them and it seemed to actually worked, I left it under there tree and sprayed water in it when I watered my garden. I eventually ran outa baby corn and put a tomato plant in one spot. They corn grew great, it was so beautiful to watch and id never felt so proud. Then that big storm came by and didn't hit us directly but side swipped us and rained for days and my whole garden was underwater. I went out when the weather finally permited and my corn was eaten inside out by what I later learned was corn borers. And I lost my tomatos from to much water they were all split, eventually this plant (Juicy Lucy was her name) was taken out by that hornworm guy! :(
My last bed was off to the side and was my largest and I had squash and cucumber and garlic growing in it. The squash kept getting fungus and those little green worm guys too. I eventually lost the plants from that big storms rain. I didn't do to well but I learned a lot. And I enjoyed trying to maintain the garden.I hope this year will go better. I still want a green thumb, currently my thumb is yellowish brown! :( Thanks for reading my boring story! :)


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eileen wrote on Tue Apr 09, 2013 3:06 pm:

Your story wasn't in the least boring and goes to show the trials and tribulations we gardeners have to face. If you can come out the other side smiling and determined to carry on then you're a real gardener!!

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williebb123 wrote on Tue Apr 09, 2013 8:41 pm:

my motto is you gotta kill em to learn how to grow em , ive killed so many plants over my life i cant count at one time i even thought i heard some seedlings call me hitler , by the way im not finished i still enjoy killing a crop of purple hull peas now and then

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Henry Johnson wrote on Wed Apr 10, 2013 5:18 pm:

Chuckle some, cry some, kept saying,'Yep, Yep, been there, done that!' Don't give up! File away the lessons for reference and reflection and keep trying, green-thumbs are earned not gifts...

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Mrs. Galeassi wrote on Wed Apr 10, 2013 5:28 pm:

Well I'm definately determined and I'm sure I will kill many more... I am currently killing my marigolds! Haha But I will get my green thumb... uhm someday.... I appreciate the encouraging words :) Its nice to know people share your woes.....

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Jewell wrote on Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:31 am:

Some seasons are better than others. It is sure fun when things grow and interesting when things don't. Keep trying and enjoy the fleeting successes. That's what I feel Ike I am lays doing. Now if I could just figure out what happened to my cone flowers. ;p

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