Timothy Lawton

     This is my third post this season in the gardening section. I have generally had a decent year, but the problems have probably been worse than the average spring. I have been able to plant almost all of the plants I grew from seedlings, yet I still have a lot left over. Soon I’ll have to stick them in the ground or put them in the compost pile.

     The weather since April has posed a fairly consistent problem. Cool temperatures and too much rain. Neither of the two do I have any control over, even though I wish I did. (Maybe someday)  Despite this not being the optimal growing situation it is far better than too hot and too dry. Both of which I have had ample experience. Heat can be devastating  to plants and when it doesn’t rain one has to break out the hose. I have spent countless hours of my life imitating a thunderstorm or soaking down pour. So, when it rains too much count your blessings and never curse it. A drought is always just around the corner.

     My biggest problem this year has been the Deer. Those ravenous monsters have eaten the tops off of at least 50 of my plants and that’s being conservative. They have a bad habit of picking the plants that have the fewest numbers in the garden. They also seem to have a taste for sunflowers. Every one of their ill-gotten meals represents dozens of flowers that will never be. I don’t care what all the idiots have to say about the POOR deer. What about my POOR plants?  No one seems to care about them. I have tried milorganite, a pellet fertilizer that has had a modicum of success in years past, Irish Spring soap cut into three slices a bar, various peppers, and finally yesterday Deer Scram. All except the latter have done little to deter the Deer and  with the Deer Scram only time will tell. I know we’re moving in on their territory, but I’ve been opposed to over development for decades and it’s not my fault that everyone else wants to build over every patch of woods in the state.

     Much of my early preparations in the gardens have served me well thus far. Laying down as much weed preventing fabric as I could has certainly saved me a lot of time. The wet start to the season has also allowed me to spend my time on tending my plants instead of watering them. This has mainly permitted me to do a lot of dead heading of spent flowers which promotes more new flowers to grow. The only downside to this has been that I have had to let the weeds grow much bigger than I want in areas that preventive measures were not practical. The reason for this is that wet ground is not very suitable to pull weeds. When it is wet the soil clumps around the roots that are pulled and sometimes even the plants your trying to protect get pulled out as well.