Cutting Myself Slack

So I realized this week I have been very very hard on myself. In general, but that is another post for somewhere else. In terms of growing vegetables, this is after all the first BIG year I have tried this. I have had a lot of success and your average amount of failure. The yard does look like hell, but it's all I can do to keep up with watering (and even that I am not doing enough of) and preventing bugs, fertilizing and harvesting all the millions of tomatoes. With D underfoot, constantly demanding my attention (literally every 8 seconds, I am estimating), it's a wonder I am doing this with any kind of follow-thru.

I think of farmers, but they have a system down, and a lifestyle down. It's hard to pretend you are a farm in the city. It makes for constant readily apparent incongruencies, both in system and lifestyle. Especially your first REAL year at it. I did grow vegetables last year but they were mostly in the shaded beds and so nothing but lettuce, squash and a few tomatoes happened.

What has happened since I last posted:
- I realized that I have not been watering enough in general this summer and I am having a lot of dry compacted earth. Note for next year: use straw mulch in raised beds and wherever there is dryness.
- The tomatoes have been going crazy. I never thought that a five gallon bucket of tomatoes would only yield 4 cups of pureed tomato. No wonder those plants produce so much! We have given so many tomatoes away and still more come. Especially cherry tomatoes. We are overrun and I swear next year we only need 5 plants, not 22.
- We had lots of record heat for a few weeks and the brussels sprouts bit it. I don't think there is one survivor. I really want BS this winter, so I am thinking of buying STARTS! NO! My garden will not be entirely from seed after all.
- The beds out front are doing bizarre things. First of all the slugs have found them which is a bummer. So have the cabbage moths. But there are four beds. In the larger beds, the moisture is barely staying in the beds; in the smaller beds, the moisture retention is better and the plants are much much larger and healthier. These smaller beds are newer and did not have a previous crop, so perhaps that is why. But is mulching the only solution? I've been liquid fertilizing everything the same... hmm...
- In October we are having much of the fir tree limbs cut to get more light into the garden which is exciting, and also to prevent sudden impalement from above as we sit around the firepit. Also the two Eucalyptus trees must go, which will be sad but also better for the beds out front. The fruit trees will all be massively pruned.
- I have been also learning about preserving (canning, jamming fruit mostly, but also how to freeze and dry things properly for best future use). W and I made plum jam with about 5000 plums from our tree. It turned out good! We have 22 jars of it, so if you personally know me, look out for some this holiday time.

So considering all the OTHER garden related things I have been doing (making jam etc), I should really really cut myself some slack. I should actually be amazed at myself! But I can't help looking out into the yard at the shriveled brussels sprouts and dead chilis and get depressed. I decided this past week I am no good at gardening when it gets really hot without relief. I have much more respect now for people trying to garden in say, Australia.

Another great thing I found this past week that is going on here in Portland: Sellwood Garden Club. Awesome!