The gift of an acre

This is a Google satellite photo of the acre we were gifted this spring. I picked up a deer tick as we walked around it back in April and had to go on antibiotics for Lyme disease. That set the stage for the rest of the season!

The acre was planted in alfalfa five or so years ago, but has since settled into weeds and wild turnips. It hasn't been plowed in at least 5 years!

Plowed May 15th. Our average last frost date. We got a very late start. It rained before the farmer could run a disk over it and we had to wait another week before I could get my little rototiller onto the ground. Sadly, so I thought at the time, I was only able to work up 3,000 sq/ft before the summer baked the ground too hard to till. We debated just sowing bush beans on what we had tilled and skipping gardening altogether until next summer.

The Texan homesteader argued that we had nothing to lose by planting late so why not take a chance. If nothing else we'd gain a feel for the ground so we'd be better prepared for next season. As we had dozens of tomatoes and peppers already sprouted and getting leggy we went ahead and planted everything.




These two "worms" turned up on a tomato and a pepper plant. I knew the tomato horn worm would eat anything in the tomato family, but I'd not seen one eating pepper leaves before. Live and learn. Happily I squished them both and we didn't see another all the rest of the summer.


The little garden section of the acre in it's innocence.

July was nothing but 100F days of sun. We lifted water from the ground with a hand pump and carried 5-gallon buckets to the garden's edge so they could warm to air temps over night. We'd been pouring cold well water on the plants and couldn't figure out why they weren't growing. DUH! We were putting them in shock everyday! Once we got that right the garden took off!


This was the average size of the Crimson Sweet watermelons we grew from seeds gifted by the Texan. She bought them from http://www.willhiteseed.com/

We had so many melons coming ripe that I took to doing drive-by watermeloning of friends' houses when no one was home! Later on, the recipients of the abandoned melons would force me to take cash for the best tasting melons they'd eaten in years. I guess we'll be planting lots of Crimson Sweet in the 2012 garden.


Tenderette bush beans were supposed to be used as a cover crop. We ended up only planting two 50 foot rows that managed to provide us with bags and bags of beans all through July and August. One family I supplied with veggies refused to open the door if I had beans for them! They would eventually peek out and see the melons and open the door. They'd take the beans too as they shoved money into my hands and told me "no more damned beans!"


More damned beans!


The July heat finally chased us out of the garden and the weeds began to appear.


I was very disappointed with the harvest of Livingston tomatoes we grew this year. They did not do well in our lack of care so I can't blame the varieties. Had we staked them, mulched them and watered them more frequently I suspect they'd have done better. The few we canned were excellent.

The peppers simply loved the acre. Dry hot summer and all!


My first attempt at pickling peppers and garlic. The peppers are mushy, but I like 'em anyhow.

There is a gardeners' saying. "Next year will be better." That goes for my pickled peppers too.