If at first you don't succeed...

The Garden Stamp
by The Garden Stamp
Easy
Despite your best intentions, sometimes the first plantings of spring don't turn out quite right.
So you experimented with a new veggie. The seed pack had a really beautiful illustration. It looked so delicious. You imagined plucking its goodness fresh from the garden, straight onto a candlelit dinner plate.
Six weeks later...you can't even remember its name.
Forgive yourself.
Time to put that spring fling behind you and get back to basics.
Jenn
www.gardenstamp.com
Related Hometalk posts:
Fastest way to plant a raised garden bed: http://www.hometalk.com/diy/outdoor/garden/fastest-way-to-plant-a-raised-garden-bed-1210210
How to turn your garden into edible art: http://www.hometalk.com/diy/outdoor/garden/raised-garden-bed-organic-salad-table-2012-1085682
Most important: Have fun! It will grow again.
The garden is healthy but a bit uneven. Some seeds failed to germinate while there is a mystery veggie(s) front and center getting out of control.
Seek out and harvest early spring crops like radishes. They are easily replanted.
Inspect known entities that seem to be in good condition. This lettuce is a keeper.
Harvest all edible greens. Clean and store them. Let that mystery veggie get promoted to a "field greens" salad mix.
Check the soil. Did you use too much or too little fertilizer the first time around? Any pests or defects?
Prepare the beds to be replanted.
Using a grid plan makes it easy to replace small sections of the garden without disturbing thriving plants.
There is no pressure to plant exotics the second time around. See what has been proven to work in your garden and build upon it.
We had a tasty crop of baby spinach beside a spot that failed to thrive. This time around, I'm planting double the spinach.
As long as your soil is healthy, it doesn't matter what went wrong the first time around. Each replanted square is a chance to start over.
In a hurry? See our previous post on the fastest way to plant a raised bed.
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2 of 25 comments
  • Kelly S Kelly S on May 07, 2013
    I ended up not planting the beans because we are having a warm spell 50-80 for a week then it will be back to much cooler 35-60 for a while.
  • Jane Jane on May 11, 2013
    I have read, not done this, but some experienced gardeners have a meat thermometer for which they use to establish the TEMPERATURE of dirt. Place the thermometer in the dirt. If it reaches 60 it is okay to plant. If it were me I would check a couple of days to make sure. I have gardened for at least 60 years. My father took the produce from his garden, all 11 acres, to the Ypsilanti Farmers Market. I helped him until I left for college.
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