One Is The Loneliest Number

Looking at the pictures above, you can see my lonely tomato. He has grown double in size over the last few days, but I'm afraid he's already starting to turn. I had a friend in from out of town over the weekend and she said it most probably was the lack of sun my plants were receiving. I'm watering them correctly, etc., they just aren't growing. The plants are, but not the fruits. 

Here you can see my cukes trying so hard. There are quite a few coming out now. Blooms are everywhere.  But....

these temps scare me.  And this is 11 a.m.  As you can see, there is a break expected from the dry spell we've had, so one can only hope this will help the cukes a bit.

I've all but given up on my little summer garden. I know my biggest problem was just getting them in the ground too late in the year. I was being completely selfish in wanting a garden and not thinking of the innocent plants that I would torture. The call of my ancestors is definitely putting a guilt trip on me. I can totally hear my grandparents' voices telling me "It won't work. It's too late. Get a Farmer's Almanac" and all those lovely little pieces of advice.  

I am at present planning my fall garden. I did go to the local feed store and they told me not to start planting until September. So next month I am probably going to start working on the soil. Tilling it up, fertilizing, getting the rows ready. In this heat, that will probably take about a month because I can only do one of those at a time before I can feel my heartbeat in my temples and behind my eyeballs. 

My friend and I looked up on the online version of the Farmer's Almanac (isn't technology wonderful when you think to actually use it?), and we got an idea of what I can actually plant and when. The almanac generally states not to start planting until about October for this area. *Sigh* Patience is not my best virtue. I am going to try spinach, mesclun, and cabbage for sure. I'm only worried they will fry to a crisp because it never gets cold down here. I'm also going to try brussel sprouts and a couple other things, depending on how much room I will have. Since I know we are not putting a pool in for a while, I am going to make a much larger garden, or at least as large as I can get away with with my husband. 

Does anyone have any other suggestions of what to plant? Remember, I have a very small area that we have determined gets about 6 good hours of sun. 

My Urban Garden Beginnings

This year my husband and I bought a house in the suburbs of New Orleans. Being from Mississippi, I am GOING to have a garden if it kills me. Before we even had furniture in the house I was planting herbs in my little planters and planning my small vegetable garden. My biggest problem is the lack of space. I am used to my small town with acres (plural) for lots and/or farms. I have never had to consider where the sun rose and set. There was always plenty of room in full sun for at least an acre or so sized garden. Here, I have to stand outside and see where the sun rises, where it is during the daytime, and where it sets. My impatience didn't foresee that problem when I first put plants in the ground. 

I tried to save as much room as I could in our backyard for our grandchildren and dogs to play, placing my squash, tomatoes, and cukes as close to the fence line as I could without putting them in too much shade. Well, that was a mistake. They are not getting the required hours of sunlight before the sun starts going down and throwing shade from the house and our little garden shed. I am getting beautiful plants and they are blooming all over the place but only have had two tomatoes to fruit. The first one only got to just over golf ball size before it began maturing. I read up on the kinds of tomatoes that are grown in this area, so I pulled the plant that wasn't growing at all and replaced it with a Creole tomato (if you haven't had one of these beauties, you are def missing out). Creoles are hybrid plants produced specifically for the heat and humidity down here in south Louisiana. It is growing beautifully and blooming. I even have a small fruit showing that seems to be growing at a rapid rate. While this little jewel is growing, the remainder of the buds seem to be dying out. This is my dilemma for most of my plants.

Now, my cukes are driving me crazy. My squash didn't make it at all, presumably from being molested by a couple of Golden Retrievers we babysat for a couple of weeks. One of the plants almost made it, but to no avail. See, I walk outside each morning with my cup of coffee and check my garden and plants. Two mornings ago my squash had given up completely and was lying flat on its back. I said a little eulogy and pulled it. Back to the cukes....  They are blooming like crazy, vining perfectly, with their curly-cues going every which way. They produce about 2-inch long fruit, then the fruit dies. I have been doing my best to keep them watered in this 111F heat index. I quit watering them wholly and started watering them under the plants the last couple of days, allowing the hose to work as a soaker. We will see if that helps at all.

The soil here is also different from the soil back home. I live very close to the levee of the Mississippi river, so the soil is rich, but it also has very dense clay under the topsoil. I tested the soil for pH and whatnot, all showing to be fine. I went to the local feed store (thank God I found one), and asked what the locals used for fertilizer. She told me creosote or 13-13-13. I've never used the former, but was used to the latter. Of course that is back home, but she said the locals used it here too. Now funny thing. While I have used 13-13-13, we always threw it in the ground while we were tilling and hoeing our rows. I had never had to place it around a plant after it was already in the ground. Needless to say I burned a couple of my herbs. Lesson learned!

During the process of buying the house, I had done some research and reading on small lot farming. While these are awesome ideas, it just doesn't work for my narrow back yard. I did find a book on landscaping with herbs (for my front yard, which is much larger than my backyard and has plenty of sunlight), but I do not yet know my neighbors or the neighborhood well enough to say they would be safe from thievery.  I would truly hate to put that much money and time into a project like that only to everyone else's advantage and not benefit from the fruits of my labor - pun intended. Call me selfish, but there is nothing like fresh herbs when cooking. Has anyone else used this idea? Were you successful? Did the neighbors take, ask, or ignore? 

So these are the reasons for this blog. It is a log, so to speak, for myself while hoping to get some input from the general public. I hope this blog reaches out to people in my area, but also to people all over in similar situations. My highest intentions are to swap gardening ideas, possibly recipes, and maybe I can even entertain you with my ludicrousness and naivety on gardening in south Louisiana. Please be sure to leave some feedback, Your criticism is most welcome.