Comments on: Free Drawing–2009 Gardening Lessons

By: Gloria Bonde

Gloria Bonde — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:58:35 +0000

This fall before the leaves fell, we went on a 11 day trip. We returned to about 30 bags of leaves (which will be composted.) I had netted my pond hoping that would keep the leaves out of the pond. It did not work. We came home to a pond filled with “leaf tea water”. We cleaned up the pond but I have a new rule: Never leave town until the leaves have fallen. Gloria

By: joan

joan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:10:03 +0000

This summer revealed that my neighbor does not share my enthusiasm for composting. Last spring I purchased a compost bin and proudly installed it in my backyard, only to have said neighbor trot over and lodge a complaint about having to look at it. Since then I have been trying to compromise and figure out ways to camouflage it. I am still working on that, but my biggest victory will be when my plants begin to grow and flower to magnificent proportions from my homemade compost!Then he can eat his heart out!!

By: Judy Lemieux

Judy Lemieux — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:29:11 +0000

As a beginner with a mostly dead yard to plant, I learned that I should follow my habits (or lack thereof) and only plant things that will survive both our dry climate and my failure to water. I also learned that I need to mulch, mulch and mulch some more. I lost a lot of new plants this year.

By: Kimmy Dumont

Kimmy Dumont — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:55:05 +0000

Gardening in Colorado is as unpredictable as it’s weather.

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:39:39 +0000

I learned the importance of planning! This year we took our veg plot to a highly ambitious stage and while it performed wonderfully, I wasn’t thrilled with the wildness of my tomatoes. Spent much too much time rerouting aggressive growth. Next spring I plan on building a heavy duty A-frame trellis to keep things a bit tidier (I can try!).

I also learned the importance of quality vs quantity. Next year I will do a better job of maintaining pepper plants to get larger fruits vs. lots of smaller peppers.

Finally the biggest change in my plans for 2010 will be planning according to growth schedules! We pretty much planted all our seeds at around the same time and it didn’t translate properly with the harvest. I know now which plant types are hardier in the unpredictable Colorado climate (peas, broccoli, lettuces, onions, leeks etc.). Next year we’ll stagger the indoor seed growth process and stick to a plan!

By: Alison O'Connor

Alison O'Connor — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:20:17 +0000

I was married in July and being an avid gardener, decided to plant 10 urn containers to display at the wedding reception. The containers were potted in May and looked fabulous…until the first hailstorm. The second hailstorm made them look worse. They had recovered fully by the third (thank goodness for fertilizer). Then, during the week of the wedding, hailstorm #4 came through and it was a classic moment when my future husband and best friend braved the pelting hail to bring all ten containers into our house. I think it was my friend who yelled, “Hail! Get the containers!” Believe me, there was plenty of shrieking, but everything looked beautiful on our wedding day. So my lesson: be a flexible gardener…you never know what Mother Nature will dole out.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:19:57 +0000

I started putting the grass clippings in the garden this year and absolutely loved this no cost weed control alternative (In Colorado so possibly it works even better with this dry climate). Obviously less expensive then buying mulch and the best is that it will compost right into the soil. I really look forward to seeing the benefits of that next summer. Getting my father (who helps me with the yard stuff) to do this took a few weeks of convincing but when he saw that I was weeding way less and that it made it easier to walk through the garden he was quickly on board with it. (I also bought him a tumble composter for his birthday – ok, maybe it was actually for me but – He is slowly starting to get the hang of that.) Think I’ll start hitting up the neighbors next year for their clippings

By: Comeara

Comeara — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:44:15 +0000

I learned that squirrels can develop bad eating habits, and it’s best to protect your pumpkins, squash, melons and tomatoes from those four footed foodies.

By: joene

joene — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:42:27 +0000

I was reminded that New England summers can be way too short … spend too much time working at your computer and, poof, summer’s gone. But I learned that planting beans as late as July in pots or the ground, and having little time to tend to them, does not prevent them from providing many meals late in the season. Actually, I guess I knew this before, but what I didn’t know is that beautiful purple beans I planted turn green as you cook them – a way cool trick to show any youngsters nearby – and, when they are planted near eggplant, the purples of the fruit really compliment each other. I will definitely plan for this combination in future gardens.

By: Jodi Torpey

Jodi Torpey — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:00:47 +0000

Oh, I bet there’s a terrific story behind this lesson! Thanks for sharing.