First gardening experiences...

15 years ago

So I started my first veggie garden this year. We have more beans and squash than we know what to do with, and we're about to have more tomatoes than we know what to do with. This has probably been the coolest thing ever. It's starting to get up near 100 degrees outside. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to pull everything after we harvest the tomatoes and plant for a fall garden to rectify some mistakes. or just see if anything makes it through the dead godawful Texas summer heat. And I thought of some things that I learned.

1) I thought I was a disorganized, all-over-the-place mess until I watched pole beans grow. Holy crap.

2) Squash plants get HYUUUUUGGGGEEE. I mean HYUUUUGGGGEEE!

3) Two 4x6 beds and 1 2x10 bed are both an intimidating amount of space, and not as big as you think. For a first-timer.

4) Tomato plants get HYUUUUUGGGGEEE. I mean HYUUUUGGGGEEE! As in, "I swear this plant was only two feet tall last time I looked at it and now I think it could eat me if it tried"

5) Hand pollinating squash is a pain in the rear, especially once you discover that those things are POINTY and STABBY. I planted 4 squash plants. We had WAY WAY WAY WAAAAAYYYY too much squash for the two of us when I was hand pollinating, but even since I decided to give it up and whatever happened, happened, we still have WAY too much squash, and we love squash. At least now it's just one "way"

6) My dogs love chasing flying things and catching flies (weird, isn't it?). But they only go after the bees once.

7) Kill the grass underneath before you put in raised beds. Kill it dead. Kill it extremely dead. Deader than dead.

8) If I think I'm starting my seeds inside at just exactly the right time, I should have started them about two weeks ago.

9) An herb garden is just about the most useful thing I've ever had.

Fresh veggies taste about 10 times better than grocery store veggies.

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Comments (9)

terrybull
15 years ago
WAAAAAYYYY
shebear
15 years ago
What no cucumbers? If you think you get a ton of squash, you should see how many cucumbers you could get. Just make sure you train them to climb or you'll be playing "Where's Waldo" with them every time you go to harvest.

Just remember fall planting starts with tomatoes in mid July so you only have a few weeks to relax before it's off to the races again. You never really get a break down here unless you just want one.
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Donna
15 years ago
I wonder if it's your garden my daughter has been ogling over there in Ft. Worth. She has tomatoes in pots, but is in true garden envy mode of her neighbors.

No, sugar, don't pull it up and wait until fall. Pull it up and replant some things that like our hot summers, like cowpeas. They are my favorite things of summer. Eating them fresh is absolutely nothing like eating them frozen or canned (yuck). Butterbeans will do well in the heat too. You'll have plenty of time to get a great crop in before frost in November.
ladybugsmom192
15 years ago
CONGRATS!! that was me last year, i was practically afraid of my tomato and squash/zuccini plants, lol!
way to go!
~ angela :)
OrchidOCD
15 years ago
I remember my first year with veggies, after having spent most of my life in the ornamental gardening world (3 years for a perennial to reach it's potential)... I became pretty sure that a squash was the inspiration for Audrey II (Feed me, Seymour!). They're fantastic, aren't they?! I rapidly became a fan of trellising, and theyre still surprising me by how quickly they can grow to Godzilla size! Quite a rush after babying along little perennial seedlings that won't even bloom their first year. I've always grown tomatoes, so they didn't surprise me, but squash, pole beans, cukes - mean green suckers from outer space compared to peonies, clematis, columbines, etc.
emileeg
Original Author
15 years ago
I still can't believe my squash plants got so huge. Same for the tomatoes... the squash were more gradual, but the tomatoes just decide to explode with new growth every once in a while, it seems :)

My husband and I had bets on which pole bean plant would reach the top of our trellis first - LOL. He won, dangit!

Donna and shebear - Grass is overrunning the tomato bed :( I HATE GRASS. argh! I'm considering pulling the tomatoes after they ripen (IF IT EVER HAPPENS IN THIS HEAT!) so that we can solarize the bed... or SOMETHING! argh! Weird part is that we constructed all three beds the same way, put cardboard down over the grass in all of them, but we're only having grass issues in this one!
Donna
15 years ago
If you take care of the tomato plants, they should last all, or nearly all, season. Is the grass coming up through the card board, or is it running in under the sides? I'm betting it's coming in under the sides. Depending on where your garden is, you may want to consider killing out the grass in your paths before next year. If it is coming up through the cardboard, it may be nutsedge. There are herbicides that will kill nutsedge without damaging other plants in the bed (Image, for one). This is one pest in which you need to know your enemy. It's a real booger to get rid of, but it can be done with patience and time.
bomber095
15 years ago
I have two layers of landscape fabric under my 8 x 8 x 10" raised bed, and not a sign of grass anywhere. Displaced and germinated maple seeds are another story...........
Suvi
15 years ago
It is like I wrote this! :) It is my first year as well, only herbs and peppers last year. I bought WAY too much squash. It is producing like crazy and taking over my small garden!

I bought an old iron door to serve as a trellis and to hide a water heater junk behind my garden. Now I can barely see this 7ft door from the tomatoes! This is crazy! Good thing we bought the next piece of land also, I will need to expand next year...;)

My dog is still chasing everything that flies, and I am trying to tell him to leave the wasps alone. Maybe he will learn his lesson...

It is very exciting to see all the plants doing so well, but we are just now hitting 100F (North Dallas). Last year my peppers started producing in late September and I barely got them harvested before the cold weather.

Good luck, it is so nice to read someone else trying out things too :)

BTW, I just joined this forum too, and it seems like there are A LOT of good advice here!

Suvi