The little garden

Here's a project I've not yet shown here. This photo was taken three weeks ago, but you get the idea. Where we lived before, we were not allowed to have a garden (not that anything would have grown there anyway). So when we moved here, I really wanted to grow some food to help with the grocery bill. There is such a slope to the property, it had to be terraced. We used logs from the trees cleared to build the house. Yes, I know they will rot eventually, but they are free. Daddy helped me dig out the squares, then cut and place the logs. Then we filled them in with soil. Mama got poison oak from helping with that part - sorry!! :-(

Here's what's planted: corn, pole beans, jalapeno peppers, mini pumpkins, broccoli, a few herbs, carrots, marigolds, bell pepper, yellow squash, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, sunflowers and Indian corn. Some things are doing better than others, but overall I'm pleased.

I've gotten quite an education in garden pests this spring. I've dealt with:
Aphids (annoying)
Imported cabbage worms (Kind of pretty, pale green and velvety, but SO not cool to be munching on my broccoli)
Tomato hornworms (Sick and wrong for a worm to have a spike sticking out one end)
Some unidentified caterpillars on my corn (so far, not a big deal)
Squash vine borers (Really gross and annoying)

I want to keep the garden (and yard too, for that matter) as organic as possible, so I've been handpicking the pests and relying on beneficial insects to take care of the rest. No chemical fertilizers, either.

Having a garden has taken much more time than I knew it would. And sometimes I find myself worrying about the next pest problem. But right now, it appears to be doing well, and it is satisfying to see that. So far so good!