One year when my Aunt Patty was in 4-H, her gardening record book won a national award and she earned a trip to Chicago. Pretty good for a girl from little Chugwater (pop. approx. 250).
The way my mom tells the story, Patty’s winning secret was her sense of humor. When asked to describe how she planted her garden, she said she did so in alphabetical order. That way, the Weeds were last!
This year was my first year planting a vegetable garden. My college roommates will laugh when they see how good it looks! I had a definite black thumb back then. Couldn’t even keep a houseplant alive.
But, marrying a farmer sure paid off, because look how my garden grows! It’s been a team effort between my Farmer Husband and I. It’s a true Farm Wife garden. The rows were bedded, strip tilled and are irrigated with gated pipe!
After a replant situation due to tiny, white worms eating most of the seed, we’ve had good weather and everything is growing great. Tyler tells me the secret is plenty of water, hoeing regularly to keep the weeds down (those suckers grow FAST), and applying fertilizer at the right time. It also helps when it doesn’t hail (fingers crossed!).
Already we’ve been eating spinach, lettuce, red beets, cabbage, green onions, snowpeas, a couple tomatoes, jalapenos, zucchini and yellow squash. It’s so fun to bring things directly from the garden into the kitchen to eat. The tomatoes, sweet peppers, green chilies and beans and cucumbers are *this close* to being ready. The sweet corn is tassled and silking and the pumpkins are filling up with lots of little guys.
Do you garden? What’s your secret to success? What’s your favorite thing to grow? I’d love to hear from you!
God Bless You & American Agriculture,
Liz
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. – Ephesians 3:20
The Farm Paparazzi 
2 Responses to “How Does Your Garden Grow?”