2014 Garden- Problems, Changes, Updates and Progress Pics

I mostly do garden posts so that Josh and I can go back year after year and remember what we've done.  These posts may not interest anyone else :) 

Problems- squash bugs are bad this year, but they haven't done too much damage yet.  We sprayed a couple of times before fruit came out.  Rabbits may eventually be a problem, but they've got plenty of other green stuff to eat right now thanks to all the rain we've had lately.  Grasshoppers are not as bad as last year- yay!

Changes-  This year we cut back quite a bit on our variety in the garden.  No okra, corn, green beans or peppers.  We get tired of okra and we just weren't eating much corn or green beans.  No peppers because we couldn't find any plants cheap enough to buy and it would have been too late to start seeds.  We're going to regret not having peppers since they are one of the fruits we eat year round.  We are almost out of peppers from last year, so if anyone has an abundance they want to share, we would love to trade some goodies! 

New this year- butternut squash and different varieties of sweet melons and tomatoes.  We're also replacing yellow squash with golden zucchini.  The yellow squash have more seeds and seem to fall apart more when cooked.  The zucchini hold up better and don't get as mushy.

Growing this year- zucchini (golden and green), cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, pumpkins, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes

Updates on technique- we are still using the drip tape from last year, filling our rain barrels from the well and letting them drain into the garden during the day.  We have had to poke some new holes in the tape since the old ones clogged up from well water salts, but the hoses are still in good shape. 
We are also happy that our ground cover is still in good shape.  We left it out all winter to keep the weeds down and then took it up to plow this spring.  This stuff is supposed to last 25 years, so we'll see.  Either way, not having to weed is amazing and totally worth the price!
We will continue to fertilize like last year- by placing granules in pantyhose and dropping into our rain barrels to dissolve.
T-posts with fencing material have worked well for tomato cages, so those are back up again this year.

Progress pics- it's amazing how much difference 6 weeks makes!

May 15, 2014

June 3, 2014

June 26, 2014

Our rabbit control specialist