I have been gardening in earnest for about 10 years. My early garden attempts largely consisted of a few raised beds and a row or two of corn.  Our previous property was 1/2 acre including the house and buildings.  Despite the limited acreage, I managed to fit a great deal of food into that garden space.

Backyard garden 2012

I learned a TON about gardening mostly by trial and error, but I also read a lot. I bought heirloom seeds, killed a lot of plants by accident, and managed to fed the family really well. I learned about companion planting and then permaculture. My early efforts paid off and I was able to grow and preserve nearly all of the vegetables that our small family needed for the winter.

Winter greens 2015

One of the goals of our Ohio farm is to produce the majority of our calories for the year. That’s quite a daunting challenge. Last year at this time, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and field peas were plentiful. This year everything is later- those same vegetables are nearly a month behind from last year.  We’ve not yet had the opportunity to indulge in fresh tomato sandwiches on homemade bread, and previously made plans to sell at local markets have proven to be a bust.

As we turn our attention to planting our fall garden in 90 degree heat, I’ll just have to be grateful for the small bounty we have and patiently wait for the late harvest of plenty.

Zucchini 2017