How Does Your Garden Grow?

Garden 3 - Sweet Millions Cherry Tomatoes (the bomb),
squash, green beans, carrots, onions and check out
my pineapple growing in the pot. It is just a pineapple
top from the store stuck in the dirt!

This is our second spring with our Square Foot Garden. I have learned so very much the last three growing seasons (In the Houston area we have two growing seasons a year. So that would be Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012 and now Spring 2013). I have so much more to learn. There is so much information on the Internet regarding Square Foot Gardening. Correction: There is too much information on the Internet regarding Square Foot Gardening. It can be confusing when asking a simple question like, "why are my leaves yellow?". Wow! Google that one. I do a lot of research and see what makes sense to me. I try it and if it fails, I try something else. Most importantly, I share what has worked and hasn't worked with my gardening friends. They do the same with me.

As you can see, our gardens are doing well this Spring. They have had a slow start with the extended cold we experienced in our area this year. I wasn't complaining, but the cucumbers sure were. They hated it. Not to mention I had to plant and replant my cantaloupe and watermelon as our "night creature" enjoyed digging up the seeds which had been planted and covered with a heavy upside down pot. He dug right under the pot. I thought I was going to lose my mind. He also loved to chew the seedlings right up. Really? He stripped the leaves from my pepper plants and green bean plants. I lost more plants that I want to remember. Argggg!

I got my water scarecrow in and after a while now, the "night creature" seems to be getting the picture that my yard is not a free buffet. Things are not being dug up or eaten. I hesitate to speak too soon, but it appears to be working. It is a behavior modification tool, which means it may take a while to work. I've taken every measure to protect my garden seedlings and plants. It is paying off! I've actually harvested some green beans, a cucumber and cherry tomatoes! Battling with the "night creature" has been so aggravating. We have never had issues with four-legged pests before. Normally, we just battle the bugs which itself is a fight. (P.S. - excuse the awful pictures. My faithful camera has died and my cell phone camera isn't that great. Couple that with my bad camera skills and you get this. Sorry.)

Cucumbers are finally taking off!

There is nothing more delicious than fresh sweet peas
right out of the garden!



My fennel plant has gone crazy and taken over the bed. Look at the flower
stalk it has put up. Nuts! I don't even eat fennel. I
just grow it for the butterflies. The Black Swallowtail
likes to put its eggs on it and the larvae love the greens.

Finally! A delicious Haricot Vert bean! My poor
plants are just recovering from losing most of their
leaves to the "night creature"