One thing I've noticed is that my body has begun to slow down. I have aches and pains in just about every joints in my body. It takes me longer to get mobile in the morning but if I stop, I get worse.
Old age comes with all those gifts, no kidding. My mind still feels young but my body betrays me. I was late planting this year because I had other important business to take care of.
I've been planting loads of vegetables at the farm and it felt like there was no end in sight, but I'm finally done planting. My son has been doing the tilling with the big tractor. My husband, son, and grandson have been helping me with the watering. The heat was unbearable and the ground was so dry. I still have some planting to do in my own garden behind my house, but it's for later beans and beets, and replacing the odd tomatoes the deers pulled out of the garden. I didn't have the electric fence working as I needed to clear weeds and cedar branches from the wire, and a little deer jumped over or crawled under the fence and helped itself to some of my beans and tomatoes.
The deers were eating the pepper plants so I tied baler twine so they couldn't stick their heads in the cages but I didn't have time to do them all.
To save time I made holes to plant my potatoes instead of the usual trench. I put the potatoes in the holes and cover them with 4 inches of soil and as the potatoes grow their foliage, I hill the soil around them so the potatoes won't be burned by the sun.
In this garden, I have squash, cucumbers, broccoli, and cabbage. Again the rows are wide to allow the big tiller to go through. My son tilled, marked the rows and I dug the holes and he put a shovelful of compost in each hole.
In this garden, my husband and grandson planted tomatoes and peppers. Another very long garden.
In this garden, I've planted 6 rows of assorted squash. I made holes to plant the squash and my husband put a shovelful of compost in the hole and I planted the seedlings. I forgot to take a photo of my other vegetable garden behind our house. We had a good rain today and I'm sure the weed will take advantage.
Thanks for stopping by, I love reading your comments. I wish you all good weather.
Julia
Colour me awed and impressed. You have been super busy and productive. I hope your gardens do very well.
ReplyDeleteWow, your gardens are huge! Fantastic that you get some help from DH & DS. Debugging all those potatoes by hand...every other day?!?! I think it would take me 4 days to get down the row once due to aches & pains.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting that photo of the pepper cages with the twine added.
I agree with the every joint hurting with age, among other ills, lol. But frankly I think you are made of superhuman stuff.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your gardens with us Julia. It is a lot of work, but such satisfaction comes from feeding our families from the garden.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to learning how you harvest and share your recipes too of what you make with all the garden goodness.
Love, Carla
Holy moly, woman! You accomplish twice as much as someone half your age would but most would choose not to work that hard. Your gardens are HUGE and so labor intensive...and then when the vegetables mature, much more work will need to be done.
ReplyDeleteYOU SIMPLY AMAZE ME!!! No wonder you are too tired to hook.
xoxo
I have absolutely NO words my friend. NO. WORDS. Like Lauren said, "Holy moly, woman! You accomplish twice as much as someone half you age would..." (and I'd add or "could."). Just debugging that loooong row of potatoes would leave me incapacitated for days. And, yes, I'm being serious. Don't you sell yourself short. You've earned every single one of those aches and pains - 100x over. I feel like a slacker because I see what you do and I didn't even manage to tie up my peonies. I'm not sure why you do what you do, and less sure how you manage to do it, but God bless you and I mean you that most sincerely and reverently. You must feed your entire family (and then some!) - so i'm sure that explains some of the why and I only hope and pray there is joy in it for you that outweighs the pain and stress that must accompany such enormous undertakings. ~Robin~
ReplyDeleteOMG you do more when it comes to gardening than I ever could. What an accomplishment and you will indeed reap the rewards at harvest. So glad your family also takes part. I remember the days when my parents and grandparents tilled and planted their gardens and I helped. I even had my own large garden...not as large as yours though, but large for me to handle by myself. Now I have three huge pots on my porch with peppers, tomatoes and carrots. Just enough for Bob nd I to enjoy. I hope the deer do not get to eat more of what you planted. Those stinkers eat everything. My mom had to put a fence around her small garden to keep them out to. They cannot jump it as she only has a 4 x 4 one. At least now you can sit back and relax a bit and hope for some rain so you dont need to tend to it every day. Janice
ReplyDeleteLike everyone here I'm so impressed with your gardening and I truly understand all the aches and pains I just can't imagine how you get it all done! You're like my Mom used to be by never slowing down no matter what. She used to say if you stop, "They" will get you! Still not sure who "They" are but I'm assuming it's all the old age troubles! Do you put up all those veggies by canning and freezing? That's a lot of produce! You had the same heat and dry weather we did but it's been much cooler now and thankfully rain too. The deer make me crazy too! They destroyed my beans and also they ate the flowers off my day lilies at the end of my driveway. I now have lots of green leaves and just sticks with no flowers! I have to keep a close watch on our apple trees too. Deer may look cute and all but they are pests around here! You take care dear Julia and don't overwork!
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry to hear about the aches and pains you’re experiencing. It’s tough when the body doesn’t quite keep up with the mind’s energy and enthusiasm. I hope you’re finding some moments of rest and relief amidst the busy schedule. It’s great that you have the support of your family to help with the watering and other tasks.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure all your hard work will pay off, and your garden will be flourishing in no time. Thank you for sharing your experiences and insights into your gardening journey.
By the way, I’ve just posted a new blog entry on how to style jeans and a tank top for date night. I’d love for you to check it out when you have a moment: https://www.melodyjacob.com/2024/07/how-to-style-jeans-and-tank-top-for-date-night.html
Ditto to all the comments above about your energy and huge garden. Add me to the list of those impressed with your accomplishments, Julia! I have a tiny garden now--just a sturdy 8-ft. arch for my pole beans, plus some crookneck summer squash and Honey Nut winter squash, and it's all I can manage. Scoliosis takes a toll with exhaustion and breathing difficulty, and I certainly get what you mean about aches and pains! But isn't it great that we're still here and can do as much as we do, even if (as in my case) it isn't a whole lot. ❤️
ReplyDeleteYou don't SEEM like you are low on energy! Wow! I hope you are well, enjoying your garden! xoPom Pom
ReplyDeleteWell busy lady!.......no wonder why you have aches and pains from all of the garden work! It all looks wonderful and I hope you have the best harvest!
ReplyDeleteJust stopping by to say hello.........hope you are enjoying your "slowing down" stage........however, I bet you are still busy! Wishing you peaceful content days!
ReplyDeleteJust dropped by to say hello!
ReplyDeleteI honestly do not know how you do it all. Makes me tired just reading all that you have accomplished...but kudos to you. Janice
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