Fertile Fridays: EATEN!
by Sarah W. Caron • July 11, 2009 • garden • 7 Comments
Growing food at home is hard. Really hard. And not in the way I expected it to be. I expected it to be challenging to get plants to grow strong enough to grow up and develop into good. That was the easy part, as it turns out. The hard part? Keeping the critters away from them! Last week it was slugs. This week? Deer. One of my tomato plants shrunk more than I care to think about at the mouths and hooves of deer. I was and am devastated, but we are doing the best we can to move forward.
And by moving forward, I mean erecting rudimentary fencing. Oh yes, that black monstrosity is my temporary barrier to keep deer out and plants in. We need a more permanent solution, but I am afraid it’s just not in the budget yet.
On the positive side, some of the tomatoes are starting to ripen. The surviving ones at least.
Meanwhile, I finally know what the mystery plant is that Will brought home from schools months ago. I’ve called it cucumbers, peas … but it turns out that the plant is (drumroll please!) green beans! And we have a few beans dangling from it already. Very exciting indeed.
The peppers are coming into their own as well. Petite, but perfect. Knock on wood.
And the pumpkins are coming up quickly. We’re using grass clippings in lieu of mulch there, which should make that plot good for the planting next spring as well.
What’s up in your garden this week?
I have a few peppers, a TON of tomatoes, two cucumbers, and one baby watermelon. I’m so excited! ALL of my apricots mysteriously disappeared – I’m blaming the squirrels, although why they would want green apricots is beyond me. Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are going strong, and the kitchen herbs are thriving. My orange tree is pouting though – I think it’s because the summer hasn’t been hot enough?
Thus far, the slugs have eaten the horseradish and lovage, and the deer have done in the dill, tomato, and hundreds of perennial flowers. We call it the first pruning. Everything grows back, eventually, and shorter. But this has been happening every year since we put our garden in, and each year the deer come closer and closer to the house. Got to learn to live with it.
No, no, don’t build a fence! Just spend some evenings quietly on your back porch with your rifle. One day soon, free venison!
Okay, the part where you hoist it from a tree to butcher might be strenuous. But think of the blogging opportunities, and the new recipes…
Awash in basil and cilantro here. Oh radishes too. Need to make radish sandwiches. Your garden looks great, despite the deer making a feast of it.
I’ve been wanting to set up a herb garden on my balcony but it’s one of those things I’ve “never gotten around to.”
I bet my third floor patio would be safe from deer thougH!
it is really lovable to have a garden but hard to save it from squirrels,deers,caterpillars,etc.we can go through some medication after consulting a agriculture officer.OK.
peter
Oh, I feel your pain! Last year it was my first encounter (after 25+ years of growing tomatoes) with the dreaded hornworm…nearly decimated my tomatoes and eggplant! This year I think rabbits got to my broccoli – at least I think that’s what it was. I used the cayenne/dishsoap spray and (knock on wood) they haven’t been back.