Pushing past the pain

My garden reached a new milestone today. We have now harvested 240 plus pounds of vegetables. We have plenty that will be harvested in the near future and the peas I was lamenting the last time have new vigor.

The okra has really waned and will be replaced tomorrow with the cauliflower transplants. I will harvest a bunch of the lettuce and I may replant some more of the lettuce transplants, except this time it will be Romaine lettuce. Adding some broccoli transplants to the squash buckets could be the ticket.

The new secret to squash beetles seems to be a more advanced version of the BT spray for crawling and chewing bugs. The bugs just hate the spray and it has helped a good bit. Next year everything is going to have companion plantings of marigolds, nasturtiums and any other companion plant that fights the bugs.

I am really proud of how much has come out of the garden. I have had other gardens that have produced more vegetables, but not in the limited space that the 2010 garden occupies. A garden with roughly 625 square feet is a relatively small garden by my standards, but this has produced fruit like a garden three or four times as big

If I was asked if I would use the Garden Patch grow boxes again, it would be a very loud YES. It is not to say they are perfect, and I have found a few things I don't like about them. I intend to change my stands in the garden and make much more substantial stands, and I know my youngest son will be happy to weld them together for me.

I also want some kind of circulating water system for next year and I don't want to have to go from box to box. I think a mosquito shield is needed and I will design and fit one for each of my boxes. I will also order some supplemental fertilizer from Gardens Alive for long growing tomatoes and peppers. They seem to need a little push at this time of year.

As my computer geek husband told me about software, if it does 50% of what you want it is good, 75% the software is excellent, 85 to 95 percent and the software is exceptional. No product works without bugs, be it software or plant grow boxes.

I would give these boxes at least an 85 to 90 percent and that makes them exceptional. Beggers can't be choosers, I am so glad I have had the time to commune with nature.

But wait until next year, and watch what I can do.