Moan, groan and rats, or rather moles

[Jsensiba]

Fed up with gardening. Lettuce gone to seed, potatoes haven't shown a flower, and the leaves are beginning to go yellow, picked off two small black and white beetles (potato beetles?). Beets are looking a little off, green onions are a dead loss I have four coming up. Many tomatoes on the vines and the flowers are doing great. The melons have flowers though! The sage is appearing too!I just ain't cut out for self-sustenance.

I've flooded the moles out yet again!

Julia

[Miki]

Yep packed in it a while ago. Plenty of markets selling home produce these days, well I believe them !

I didn't realise just how much time and effort a veg plot takes, hats off to those who work full time and still enjoy all the hassle of growing their own veg etc. We still have fruit trees and other fruits though.

Miki

[Iceni]

There are loads of reasons why folk garden, mine is because I need the exercise, sitting at a PC all day induces more spread than middle age can account for. I also like fresh healthy food so my blackfly riddled stuff is OK by me.

We were told that you cannot grow onions from seed in our area, tried twice and now buy seedlings. Potatoes have not all flowered BUT on digging a few up found that they are a good size and coming on nicely - some have mice bites out of them but they are still edible.

Have grown far too many varieties this year to see what works, fennel is a waste of space (Florence fennel) and I wont bother with rows of it next year, will just stick some in the herb garden, peas need more space and need to be grown in pots for planting out unless we really do want to feed more mice, wont bother with spinach but am going to plant beet spinach (NZ or perpetual for the winter). Yes, some of it is a waste of time, find out what works best for your soil, stuff you like and just grow that or if you really cannot be bothered, give it up.

For me it is a learning experience and I feel that for our first real year of veggie gardening over here we have not done badly. Water is from the well and we had to buy a pump when we got flooded in November so that is put to good use as we water via a hose from the pump (well at the top of the hill, veggy garden at the bottom of the hill - but John seems to thrive on the exercise).

Oh, I have lost and kept off half a stone in weight and when I went back to the UK I was told I looked better than I have done in years, so it MUST be doing me some good. Had my first ever globe artichoke last night - and we grew it .

Di
http://www.iceni-it.co.uk

[Floydmike]

Noone ever said it would be easy and there is not a gardener born who does not have failures, but when you eat a dish of something you have just picked, it all becomes worthwhile, and, when you've served that dish to Miki, to show him what he's missing, doubly so.
Then there are the bonuses. Iceni has already mentioned the exercise. In addition, think of having a stock cupboard,enough to see you through a winter, and all of things you have grown yourself and also think of the pleasure of being able to give your occasional surpluses to friends and neighbours.
If non of these arguments convinces you, there is always the most powerfull argument of all. It does cut down the amount of time you have available to allocate to apero consumption!!

Mike