Love this style of conversing together!! My wins and fails were along the same lines 😊 I too am so thankful I won’t need to set Up infrastructure next year!!
Wins: Strawberries survived our Missouri winter in GreenStalk Garden containers! My first strawberry harvest ever, after planting Johnny’s bare roots late last spring. I made strawberry jam for the first time ever! My first ever Clematis plants also survived our winter and seem to be getting well established! My 2nd year of growing potatoes in 15, 15 gallon grow bags went well! Fails: I fried all my tomatoes, eggplants and peppers from seeds in trays having them in a cold frame in May but not venting it in the warm sunshine. My Let’s Dance Hydrangea (2nd year) is all leaves and stems (all new 2023 growth) but no blooms! Weeds and self seeded trees growing are out of control. I’ve got a lot of work to do to get it all trimmed and under control during the off season!
I absolutely love your sharing of your wins and fails because we all have that. I often wonder what is going wrong in some RU-vidr's garden that they're not sharing because I think that is just as important as a perfectly growing garden. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your ups and downs from this growing season! I’m also the type that just keeps checking off the never ending list of to-do’s and have to remind myself to take a breath and enjoy my surroundings! It’s been a strange growing year for me. So many of my fails this year we’re plants I’ve never had an issue with before! I’m trying to enjoy what is doing well and trying not to dwell on what isn’t. There’s always next year, right?! My wins this year were having more irrigation lines in the vegetable and flower gardens, and putting down a deep layer of mulch around the raised beds and pathways, which is actually allowing me to keep on top of the weeds this year!! (For the most part!😂)
I love this style of video - so very encouraging to know two experienced gardeners are still learning new lessons and determined to carry on! My biggest win this year was winter sowing - 40+ milk jugs with everything I thought might possibly grow - and they did ... only 3 were complete failures. I have an entire 20x30 brand new in ground garden planted with all the things I started from seed. Including the most exciting thing ... a row of lavender. My failures - not mulching that same garden heavily enough - oh the weeds!!!! I'm also struggling with deer eating so many of my sunflowers and tomatoes ... and speaking of tomatoes - I started a bunch. Inside with no grow lights - just a sunny window and a reflective cardboard and tinfoil set up. I had 338 tomato plants. Oh my stars. I gave soooo many away and then just planted them willy-nilly in every available spot. So many ... it's been a fun year - I need to find a super simple irrigation system for the inground garden and I will not make the mistake of not putting down a weed barrier again. My pathways are just three layers of cardboard and 7 yards of free woodchips and they are pretty good - but the planting areas are just a mess.
Ladies, this is an EXCELLENT addition to continue your channel content! It's so HELPFUL to learn from listening to the two of you chat and brainstorm garden challenges! I keep looking forward to my weekly tea time with my youtube friends, the Garden Sisters! Thank you for continuing on even tho your lives have changed so much - your conversations are such a helpful learning tool. I have many fails (figuring out HOW to germinate Bells of Ireland and Delphinium are tops up there!) But the reminder to count as a BIG WIN that I have a garden at all to work in is SUCH wonderful advice as is taking time to just enjoy it (even if it means watering it every evening). 🥀🥀🥀
I just love and appreciate your being candid and enjoying your gardens with laughter. And yes, having a garden is a win! I do not have flowers or vegetables this year because 2 of our children wanted to get married on our property. We were too busy grooming to garden. Thank you for the highs and lows. It helps me remember to not expect perfection and too hopefully go smaller next time.
I loved hearing about your gardens! A big win for me is to have tomato plants that are still green and thriving in August and to have beautiful tomatoes!! I struggle with blight every year and am so glad I didn’t give up!
I'm reminded by your talk that gardening is as much about the process as the product. I sat down to take a break between the morning and afternoon gardening chores and was delighted to find your post. So, this is my fail, of sorts. I created a fifty foot by five foot daylily bed six years ago. I have filled it with daffodil bulbs as well. I didnt take into account that the daylilies would stop blooming unless dug up and divided every three to five years. This was the second year of very few blossoms so the problem is demanding a solution. It is a big job and will take weeks to accomplish. To do it correctly the daylilies need to be dug and divided, the soil amended, and fewer rhizomes planted. I'm wondering if I have it in me to do this all over again in five years. I am no spring chicken! What was supposed to be low maintenance didnt turn out to be. I need to sit and ponder for a while what to do.
All but one of my dahlias came up and I got them staked. That’s a huge win for me. The losses - letting the weeds get too big and not keeping up with my veggies. The chickens have enjoyed as many squash as we have and more tomatoes. 😅
Love it girls!! I live in Hartville Ohio…this year was hot at the wrong time …slugs almost killed my ugly but necessary marigolds…what eats those? I thought and yes they were on everything for awhile 🙈
Hi!!! What if u had a plague of grasshoppers?? What would you do? I ask because I've been battling grasshoppers for a few years now on our 25 acres. I've tried to do organic and I've tried many methods. Nothing has worked. Nolo bait helped a bit, but u can't find it any longer. They have eaten everything beautiful & all my time, $, energy, hopes, and dreams were digested along with it. They were here when I moved here. Fighting them since. (?)
Enjoyed watching the both of you talking about your failures and successes. Too funny, but yes always emphasize the wins. I have always planted perennials except for some zinnias. This year started some celosia seeds indoors and transplanted them outside. I wasn't prepared for how big they became, but I am loving them. Next year I am going to start a lot of cut flowers by seeds, they are so beautiful and the bees and butterflies are a joy to watch. And yes I'm going to plant some ranunculus...wish me luck!
Wins: I have a garden at my new property! I have yellow summer squash, okra and Swiss chard that I am proud of. Fails: I’m still hand watering. Garden is small. Did not get my call t flower garden planted….I started to and then realized I would have to do something about the ground squirrels first. And another win: Thank you both for continuing your channel!!!
Rosita - I'm in the same growing zone 5a/6b (nearly due west of you along I-70 in Brazil, IN) , I've started eucalyptus in Feb before and I feel like I need to start it earlier, when did you start it and how much earlier do you think you'll try next time?
What lavender variety did you start from seed? Did you have to cold stratify? I want to start lavender in zone 10b but everything I’ve researched said it’s almost impossible to start from seeds 😬 thank you!
I have a garden resonates with me. This is my second year with a veggie garden where I'm trying to incorporate more flowers than sunflowers, zinnia, and marigold. Those were only to attract pollinators but I'm hoping to add more flowers just to enjoy them. Love your channel.
My biggest win was buying compost when I started my backyard garden bed. Amending sticky clay is key to gardening where I now live in 8a South Carolina. The 3 Little Gem magnolias I bought are doing fine and providing some needed privacy. I also planted arctic fire and arctic sun dogwoods for winter interest and for wreaths and floral arrangements. Have you tried those? They might extend your season with holiday crafts. My failures were seed starting, which I started too late. We didn’t move into this house until November and my expectations were unrealistic.
Oh, you guys are so funny…had to chuckle at your win Rosita you had a garden.😂😂😂 I also had a question what are the characteristics of the heirloom tomato from your mom, Laronda?
I guess my win for this year… my green beans planted two rows in the garden like 25 foot rows not sure why😅… managed to be gone to Belize, so my daughters got to pick 2 ,5 gallon buckets each, so their canning shelves are looking great, now they are blooming again and just looking so healthy and amazing!
I don't have any wins here in NC. After having a wonderful, productive garden last year, this year I had a death in the family early on followed by two cataract surgeries that had complications all accompanied by depression. So here I sit pining away because I know that in my backyard, there is a small inground plot that grew the most beautiful okra last year but is covered over with black plastic this year and two undeveloped raised beds with a couple of lonely carrots and one collard from the previous garden. In fact, the only things that were produced in those beds were some baby rabbits put there by their mom. So yes indeed there was life in that bed. Now with all that "woe is me" aside, I would appreciate your prayers. I think I've decided that once my health issues are resolved, I will try again next year.
Less slugs!!! Green beans, peas and corn in new garden absolutely failed due to no nutrients in the Sandy soil and shade . . . Will have to cut down trees and add manure . . . In my other garden I actually had stock growing in rows and a small bed of nigella for the very first time!!! And am loving my kale! I have been putting some up for the winter!
My cosmos from Johnny's Seeds did not do well either and I don't remember how many times I planted them. The one time they did come up but then suddenly they died... I think they might've gotten too dry. But overall my cosmos did terrible and usually they are the easiest things ever to direct seed. Last year I had lots...
So it’s interesting hearing you talk about Cosmo troubles. 😅 I also had Johnnys Seeds Double click Cosmos that never sprouted. They were direct sown, but it was through the hot drought conditions of May-June here in Ohio. Also have had some dahlias getting powdery mildew. Sadness! Any advice of what to do?
in the art world they say you get one good painting that's a keeper, out of ten . I have my first lovely dahlia this year, critters ate most of my Lizzy,s
Thanks ladies for your insights as a frustrated gardener as we all have been there at some point in our journey. What do you use as your low tunnel hoop frames?
Just like you two ladies, my husband and I started our 30' x 50' garden from scratch this year. We tore down the old garden and began new. With sixteen above ground beds, completely fenced in and ready to go, I got planting. Then we had a fluke of a frost hit, so I immediately lost several plants and the seeds that I direct sowed never germinated. So when it began to warm up I planted again. The second time brought in quite a bit of germination, then the rains came and pounded the garden. I lost most every tomato and loads of smaller plants. Then the heat came. Oh, did I mention we live in Florida? But overall, I managed to get a large harvest from a variety of vegetables: Cucumbers, pole beans, sugar snap peas, jalapenos, tomatoes and peppers. I got 4 cantaloupe, 1 watermelon and 5 Cinderella pumpkins. It's too hot to get out there right now, but in the early morning hours I need to spend some quality time out there pulling weeds and prepping my beds for a fall crop. My biggest win is similar to yours, building a garden to plant in. Thanks for sharing your wins and fails, it makes mine feel a little less frustrating.
Also, my garden is a first time garden in a new state. I moved from 5b to 7a and didn't really realize that it was such a difference. I planted a lot of seeds and some didn't come up. I think it was because I just needed to start them and didn't research them very well. There is soooo much information and each flower is different, especially if it needs to be succession planted. When I started my veggies I planted seed, when the first frost came and went I planted outside and harvested. Easy Peasy. Well, I'm growing flowers and pretending I'm a flower farmer and it is so much more complicated. Lots and lots of first times. My wins were zinnias, amaranth, basil, sunflowers, explosion grass, statice, yarrow, cress, bachelor buttons (in spite of them being inside too long and all got root bound). My losses were nigella, calendula (some kind of disease took them all out), snaps (didn't pay attention to what kind I was planting), dahlias and glads (got so much rain I lost half of them), dahlias also because none of the tubers I got survived and the ones from seed were really short and single petals (not enough research). Also dill, ageratum (started the short variety), chamomile was okay for a while until it got over 100 degrees in July and August. Mountain mint I thought until I found a couple of plants out there doing great. And my biggest failure of all was using popsicle sticks with magic marker to identify all my seedlings when the sticks got really wet and the writing on them became illegible. Have since gone to plastic markers and the garden marker. Already starting seeds for Fall and crossing my fingers!
Oh, and also I lost the very first 7 trays of seeds (and another reason I couldn't identify things) is because my cats just HAD to jump up on my seedling shelves and knock all the trays down on the floor when they just started to sprout. I salvaged some but didn't know what they were until after they bloomed.
I sure enjoy you two girls..... success's were out weighed by my failures.....Failures: blupleurum, persian crest, double white cosmos, nigela, straw flowers, and veggies were, lettuces & radishes, cilantro ( all bolted- to hot to fast), and brocoli . Theres always next year to try my flowers..... Loretta- I'd gladly give you a bunch of chive---they come up everywhere here. (zone 4B- NW Iowa)
Planted actually good green manure crop this winter. (Last years seed didnt take). Just about ready to dig it in before Spring. 😊 (I'm from New Zealand)
My biggest fail was letting my parents babysit my eucalyptus and snapdragon seedlings while I was in Florida. Came back to leggy, dried out, mostly dead seedlings that couldn’t recover. I tried to downplay the situation but deep inside it hurt. 😅
Fun! Enjoyed listening to you guys chat and laugh. My win this year was to just to have a garden as well. Gardening in a new place and had to convert some pasture to a garden. Even though it’s not as grand and beautiful as I’d like, I have some flowers and veggies growing!
I have drip supplies for my raised beds waiting to be set up also ! It looks daunting, I burned myself out watering all through May June an most of July here in central Mo ! Now like Loretta we got over five inches in one evening 😮! Gardening here in the Midwest is much more challenging then growing in Pa where I lived most of my life .
Aah the wins and losses.. how well I know! 🫣 huge win for me was actually having Ranunculus and anemones bloom this spring. I lost the war on June bugs eating up all the roses! The dahlias went out very late and I didn’t stake them too good. Fingers crossed on how well they’ll do.
