From weed patch to bounteous veggie garden

A sad, neglected weed patch

That's not going to be my garden this year! Last year I launched my 25 sq ft veggie and herb garden quite successfully - even starting all the seeds myself. I transplanted tomato, pepper, squash, swiss chard, zucchini, watermelon, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, pumpkin and cucumber starts. I put in little green plantlets that promised zinnia, sunflower, marigold. I even threw in some organic Russian fingerling and Russet potatoes for good measure. And corn too. I tried my hand at spinach, various lettuces, basil, coriander, beets, radishes, carrots, peas, beans. Did I mention okra, malabar spinach, nasturtiums and Jerusalem artichokes?

I can get over-ambitious sometimes :). It was my first experience gardening in the US and I wanted to experience it all! I figured I could figure it out on the fly, since I have like two degrees in farming. Yeah, so my Ag degrees were in tropical Malaysia and I didn't have a clue
what 'degree-day' or frost-free date was. We had blueberry bushes, raspberry, blackberry, quince, spirea bushes. We had apple, pear, cherry and other trees to prune and fertilize. Should I do this in spring or fall? I had it easy growing stuff in Malaysia where the year round temp is 85 degrees and the 'all year' growing season means not having to worry about all these temperate climate gardening issues.


An unexpected and prolonged illness and a self-imposed ban on hard physical labor - hey digging dirt is hard work - left my nicely started garden progressing into a forlorn-looking weed patch. I did get heaps of zucchini, squash and cucumbers. A bumper crop of Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) left my DH and I with an astounding case of gas, and some $200 richer. (I sold them on Ebay and Craigslist for $5/lb). We enjoyed lettuces, the sweetest ever swiss chard, a couple heads of cabbage and all the basil, cilantro, mint and oregano we could wish for. The potatoes were amazing, freshly dug then steamed with a pat of butter and sprinkling of Real Salt. We even got a respectable crop of tomatoes before the dreaded wilt did them in. But I never saw a carrot or beet, nary a melon or sunflower (slugs ate the plantlets). The corn, though tasty, was chewy (picked too late), and the 'sugar' pumpkins were tasteless (though very pretty).

I learnt a lot, and I had a good time, but I guess it was overwhelming at times for a newbie like myself.

This year, I'll do better, i.e., I'll do less ... :)

Peace.