Team Bowen: I have peppers!

Remember my big plans to plant a garden this summer? And then about half way through the summer my pepper plants and basil had grown, but the peppers still didn't have any fruit. My cherry tomatoes did well, but my squash and zucchini had failed miserably, remember?

Well come the beginning of August the pepper plants were huge! But still no fruit.

Pepper plants & Basil end of June

Pepper Plants and Basil now

I must admit I was a bit down-trodden towards the end of the summer as well. It did not flourish as I would have liked. I've never really had a green thumb, BUT I had high hopes.

Well towards the end of August I noticed that I had 2 peppers on one of my pepper plants! Needless to say I was ecstatic! If nothing else, I had succeeded at growing SOMETHING. And then as the month of September came and went, the peppers multiplied! And a couple even turned red! I love red peppers!

Also in early to mid-September Chris pointed out that I had a cantaloupe growing!! How sweet is that?!?

The super sad thing is that I went out a couple days ago to again admire the one piece of fruit my plant had yielded- AND IT WAS GONE! Something ate it! Talk about disappointed. I have no idea what happened, but the whole thing is gone! No evidence of anything. I'm guessing a deer? Gardeners always seem to blame things on deer and bunnies, but this job seems to big for a bunny.

And then my sweet potatoes are underground, but at least the leaves on top look pretty good. I'll dig them up in a couple more weeks.

So I had had big plans for the Fall. I was going to continue with a Fall garden of lettuce and broccoli. (I don't really like collards and some of the other greens, so no point in trying to grow them.) I had actually started some lettuce and broccoli inside in our sun room, but guess what? Yep, they died; they sprouted and were looking good for a couple weeks before I managed to kill them.

And then the more I thought about it the more I realized I really don't want to be hauling the hose out the back of the garage and around the corner to where the plants are all fall. Its a huge pain and since it will be getting dark earlier it will be more challenging for me to go out and water after I put Phoebe to bed. I'm going to take a break this Fall.

But next Spring and Summer I have big plans. You see Chris is going to help me build 2 square raised beds that we will put in the small grassy area directly behind the garage. This way I won't have to haul the hose out quite as far AND there will be plenty of sun. (Some of my original planting areas this past summer did not end up getting enough sun.) And I'm starting a compost pile. I keep reading and hearing that good soil and good compost are the keys to a successful garden. We try to do most things green around here (recycle, cloth diapers, cloth napkins, and I try to be mindful of packaging and what types of cleaning products I use) so why not compost as well?!? I will tell you more about our attempts at composting later on.

But now that you've seen my mere little garden let me show you my inspiration! This is what some good compost can do for you :)

Well good compost, some land and a little red barn. Every garden is going to look better with a little red barn.

This is the garden of a lady at church. She is an avid gardener and LOVES teaching and educating school children and just about anyone about organic gardening. She has been a great resource and her garden really is an inspiration. Phoebe and I have taken several field trips over to her garden and she has even allowed us to come over and pick fresh produce when she is out of town.

Check out these trellises they have made for peas, and beans, and anything else that you can grow UP!

I just LOVE sunflowers. How amazing would that be to have a row in your garden?

She's got a few more sweet potatoes than I do. Yeah, that's a lot of sweet potatoes.

And how cute are these peppers?!? I think they are called Christmas Bell Peppers, or something like that because they are in the shape of a Christmas bell.