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WARNING: This is more of a personal blog than an informational one, so if you're not into that you may want to skip this one.
It's the end of July. I have harvested several handfuls of tomatoes, peppers, and beans from my garden and that's about it. Usually, at this point in the year, I am drowning in cucumbers, zucchini, and squash but I do not have a single one yet, and probably won't get any this summer. I have planted hundreds of seeds at this point, most of which were devoured by pincher bugs and rollie pollies the second they popped out of the ground. The ones that didn't get eaten as babies (I resulted in using diatomaceous earth) have now been eaten by or moles/voles/gophers or other underground creatures or scorched by the intense heat we have been having all summer.
I have been moping around all month and having myself a pity party about it all.
I finally decided to calculate how much time is left in my growing season using trusty google and found out I still have 100 days left....that's A LOT of time. I ripped out everything that was not producing, beans, peppers, some tomato plants, and so on. I went to my seed stash and pulled out all of the seeds that needed 100 days or less to mature and could handle the heat, which was a lot, including zucchini, pumpkins, cucumbers, beans, and so on, and just started planting in the beds that are underground animal proof, which unfortunately was not a lot.
Next, I went to a local nursery and purchased some hummingbird mint and other random flowers that were on sale. I did this because although diatomaceous earth is considered an organic method of pest control, it does also get rid of beneficial insects and I had ZERO pollinators in my garden this year and I was so sad about it and needed them to come back.
The next step is going to be a doozy especially in this heat, it is removing all the soil from the raised beds and lining them with teeny tiny hardware cloth. When my husband and I originally build the beds we lined them with chicken wire but it is not strong enough to keep the underground critters out. I am not going to attempt to do this all in one day because I have several beds that need this done, but I will go one by one and plant as I go. I hope to have it all done in time to have an epic fall/winter garden to make up for the crappy summer one.
I went into this gardening season with expectations, BIG ONES. I am starting to finally accept the fact that having expectations will ultimately lead to disappointment and the importance of going into anything with an open mind. I did not take her advice going into this gardening season and here I am, disappointed.
I just want to remind you, that there is more time. Just because everything doesn't go the way you planned, that doesn't mean it's over. Take a minute to feel however you feel about your disappointment but don't let it consume you. Do what you can with the time you have left, even if it means just planting a few things this season, or waiting for the next season. Appreciate what you have for the time being and move forward. YOU GOT THIS!
Happy Gardening.