A Garden Update

We are having another year of a not-so-great garden. I would like to blame it all on the weather (and the fact that we have had no heat... this morning was in the low 60's and raining), but I think it is partly due to my gardening inexperience. Our plants seem to be struggling to really get growing, and I think I didn't add enough compost to the soil. I did add some compost around each seed/plant that I planted, and our yard is covered with clover, which adds nitrogen to the soil, but I think it needed a bit more love. most of our yard is on a relatively steep slant, and my guess is that a lot of our topsoil is coming off in the winter rains. I think next year I need to add a lot more compost... maybe even till compost into large patches. Anyways, I am enjoying what we are harvesting, and hope that we get enough sun around here for our tomatoes and squash to produce before fall rolls around!

Here is one of out teeny heirloom tomatoes.... Fruit is ripening, but the plants are a fraction of the size we normally have...

The world's saddest pepper....

Our squash are just beginning to blossom...

Our plum tree, which normally at this time of year, is drooping with more plums than us and all of our neighbors can enjoy. This year, not a one. This same thing happened 3 years ago, and I really am clueless as to what is going on. My only guess is that the tree flowered while it was still too cold for the bees to come out and pollinate? Does anyone know more about this? A thorough google search proved to be no help....

But, I can't complain too much. We had an overabundance of snap peas (which we are now letting go to seed in our first seed-saving experiment), we are eating carrots, beets, and chard from our garden, as well as a variety of fresh herbs. Our potatoes are coming along well and we have strawberries and blueberries to snack on. And, our calendula is happy as can bee!

How is YOUR garden?