The first spring and summer is a blur, and more heavy work than I had ever thought it would be. Of course I was trying to establish my new garden without much more than a couple wheelbarrows and hand tools. It would have been so much easier to hire a guy with a bobcat to come in and set things up for me, but I rarely do things the easy way.
Veggies in the background, and my new Liberty apple tree
Various members of my family were pressed into service hauling loads of soil here and there, especially my teenaged son who was generally given the 10 wheelbarrows full of soil from the front to the back chore each day that summer. And he didn’t complain about it – what a good kid! My wonderful sister even hauled soil when she came to visit, and the garden on the north side of the south fence I named in her honour, since she pretty much built it!
Putting my sister to work!
The veggie garden thrived in what turned out to be one of the best growing seasons I can remember. It turns out that my new garden grows some excellent tomatoes, carrots, spuds and salad greens.
Onions are always a struggle for me (one of my ambitions is to figure out how to grow big onions!), and tragically, one of my favourite crops; garlic, has had some serious problems. I have never had difficulty growing garlic before, but it was stunted and the leaves always had yellow tips from the moment they emerged. I suspect poor winter drainage was the culprit, so will rotate the garlic into a better position next year. The leeks, on the other hand, were magnificent! I had never grown leeks before but will add them to the “must grow” list as they were dead easy.
Spring garden - note the pathetic garlic!
