karstopography wrote: ↑Thu Aug 25, 2022 8:37 am There’s some hard luck stories here.

What’s the right balance to have with the garden to avoid the burnout?

I’m in a situation currently where I’m not gardening to make ends meet or necessarily put food on the table. The fun part of gardening for me is bringing in or using something I grew for a dinner or lunch. Getting that tomato that doesn’t look like a store bought one and doesn’t taste like one either.

I keep adding new beds every season, but at some point it could be too much to care for. We took out three hollow big oak trees last week that threatened falling on the trucks and waterwell, but now I have a full sun almost the entire day of type spot to grow things like melons or corn that won’t tolerate much of any shade. Do I build the beds or say enough is enough? I won’t do anything until it cools off.

Tormato wrote: ↑Sun Aug 28, 2022 11:59 am One thing to try to balance when expanding a garden, is low maintenance vs high maintenance plants. Adding more low maintenance things doesn't add a lot of extra work.

karstopography wrote: ↑Sun Aug 28, 2022 12:55 pm @Tormato Onions here are easy as it gets. Timing on the sets going in is around Thanksgiving. Any short season type. A bundle of sets of 60 or 70 onions is something like a $1 or thereabouts. They bulb up in April into early May. I did about 100 onions last year and I’ll triple that number this fall. Onions like 1015 Legend are very popular in the family. I won’t have any trouble giving away whatever I don’t want. Then, I can plant winter squash or peanuts or okra or cantaloupe something along that line in their wake.

Weeds have never been a problem here so that’s a plus. Probably something about the raised beds, but even the original non-raised bed isn’t a weed magnet. About the only weeds are volunteer tomatoes and peppers.

I’ve really been enjoying the past year’s fall and winter gardens. Most of that gets planted in late October into December. The weather is more pleasant for working outside and the pest pressures are way down. Leafy greens and the cabbage and mustard family stuff isn’t so labor intensive anyway.

This time of year, the tomato plants are just sprawling and ugly. I have mostly abandoned any effort to tame them. I put a little fertilizer on them recently to perk them up for a potential fall crop. The plan is let the best of the bunch to ride into the fall. I did pick a 7 1/2 ounce Beefmaster this morning that was blushing and noticed a couple more little tomatoes on that plant forming. That one looks like a keeper for fall. Sungold is setting fruit again. Some of the peppers are tired and sick looking, while others look good. I’ve added fertilizer to them. I planted a few bush filet beans, Rolande and they are up.

Tomatoes are the most exhausting thing I grow. Everything wants to eat them and they need constant attention, pruning, tying up, defense, water, etc. They are great and I enjoy them a ton, but it’s a lot of work.

slugworth wrote: ↑Fri Sep 16, 2022 5:01 am Mine look like the wicked witches' feet after the ruby slippers were removed.