Garden News

Cantaloupes were a bust this year and most of my watermelons were tiny things that ripened to quick and burst open or were tasteless green globes. Insects and birds ate all my grapes and poked holes in my tomatoes as soon as they began to ripen. All my peaches disappeared last Sunday. Tree was loaded on Saturday but on Monday morning there was not one to be found anywhere. Jalapenos were plentiful and the green peppers and chili peppers are producing. The squash died quickly from worm infestation and the green beans didn't produce at all. The yellow wax beans were good though. Cucumbers grew so fast I was picking 30 to forty a week so had to give most of them away. I suppose the lack of rain had a lot to do with the crop failure this year but I just don't understand the reason for the abundance of Japanese beetles and June bugs. What the draught didn't kill the beetles and bugs ate. The saddest thing is I fought harder against disease and insects this year than I ever had before but it seems all I got accomplished is bleaching out the color on my rose bushes. Last fall I removed 300 cedar trees from the vacant lots next door and sprayed my fruit trees earlier and more frequently and cedar rust was just as bad if not worse than ever. I planted three rows of beets but because of the lack of rain I picked only a few and I forgot them and they dried out before I could get them in to fix. Carrots and onions were a bust also as the ground was so hard and dry they had no way to grow. It's almost enough to make a man want to give up gardening. It's been so hot I couldn't even go fishing and with not doing the yard at the church for the first time I just haven't enjoyed my summer as much as in the last several years. A spate with my wife's oldest son kind of put a damper on enjoying my vacation. Car troubles and cataract surgery and Mom's break-in caused me more money than I had anticipated spending and a slumping stock-market cost me dearly. 2015 began with so much promise but unless things improve this year will be as unproductive as my garden.