Better Late Than Never

We were so busy trying to get our new (old) barn ready for kidding season during the winter and spring months that we had resigned ourselves to not growing a garden this year. Maybe just a few herbs in planters near the front door. But by the time June came around and the barn was mostly done, we took a look at our neglected garden space and made the executive decision that a late garden was better than no garden at all.

If you didn’t already know, we recently moved to Matt’s grandfather’s house after he passed away last year, so this garden was his and he always shared it with us. So even though we’d grow vegetables and flowers however we could in whatever space we had availabe, we’d often get the majority of our produce from his garden. This garden. So the idea of skipping a year was disagreeable, to say the least.

We started off with just a few raised beds situated on the side of the garden nearest the house. We thought maybe near those boxes, we could transplant a row or two of tomatoes. And while we’re at it, maybe some peppers, eggplant and tomatillos too. That’s it. No need to push ourselves too hard right now. Next year we’ll put more effort into it.

But then we got the garden tilled and brought in a load of compost, and suddenly it was an entire blank page of possibility. And I just so happened to find a forgotten pile of seeds in the fridge that I’d purchased last year for the garden I thought we were going to grow before we moved, plus some older seeds from 2022 and 2021. We might as well plant what we’ve got, right? Who knows if the seeds will even germinate. And since we’re going for it, we might as well see if there are any local farm stores still selling seed potatoes. Yes, it’s late in the season, but let’s just see what happens, right?

Bit by bit, our garden plans grew until we were taking up the whole space.

Well, not the whole space. Matt’s grandpa’s garden would t-off up the hill, but we moved our chickens to that area months ago knowing we would need to reduce the size of our garden for now to make it more manageable, and hoping some of the chicken runoff would slowly decompose and make its way down to the garden to help keep the soil healthy. Plus, chickens near a plot of vegetables is a no-brainer since they have such a love for food scraps.

Magically, most everything we’ve planted has sprouted, including my seed packets from 3 and 4 years ago. I’m happy to know that keeping seeds in the refrigerator, and not just the freezer since freezer space is limited, is a viable option for longer term storage.

Our corn isn’t “knee-high by the Fourth of July,” but maybe fall will take its time again this year. Honestly, even if it’s a complete flop, which I’m sure it won’t be, we still have Matt’s grandpa’s orchard with its many varieties of apples, prunes(plums?) and pears, and all the medicinal herbs I’m finding around the property. So I’ll be busy in the kitchen come August preserving everything. Perhaps we’ll have an opportunity to add some plants to our orchard as well. We’d love to terrace it out, since it’s situated up on a steep hill, and bring in some blueberries and raspberries, and plant a few more fruit trees.

One of the things that brings us constant joy is seeing all of the blooming flowers. Matt’s grandfather was a Master Gardener, so they planted beautiful perennials around the property, and I’ve completely fallen in love with all of the roses. We’ve been trying our best to keep the weeds at bay, but all we can really do this year is document what is popping up where so we have a better chance at getting the weeds under control next year before they get too big.

Last year, we weren’t officially moved in until the last day of July, and the deer most definitely had the place scoped out. Anytime a flower would bloom, it wouldn’t last more than two days before the deer would come to snatch it up. I often would step outside to find them munching on the apple trees near the house, and spied them in the woods by the creek. I’ve been warned they will often disappear for awhile and fake you out, but they’ll always be back. Well, so far we haven’t seen much of them, and I’m secretly hoping they’ve decided it’s not worth bothering us here. There’s plenty to munch on in the woods, right?

I know, I know. Fat chance.