Garden Update: The Sad Reality

I'm not going to bother with excuses. There's nothing growing, and that is that. Excluding the weeds, of course. Since taking these pictures I've cleaned all of them out and in the process we found a few surprises.

(I'm so bummed about it that I didn't bother trying to get any "good shots." I didn't even have the urge to try to salvage them by editing, so I apologize for the lackluster pictures.)
The first one I cleaned out.

Weeds everywhere!

I rooted this lemon grass( and stuck it in the existing sandy soil  last year. It instantly flourished and grew into a beautiful mess. Over the winter I thought it died, but it has already sprung back to life. It's hard to make it amidst all of the weeds, so in case you don't know what lemon grass looks like, it's the two tall clusters of leaves.

Here is a mint plant I bought from Lowe's last year. I planted it in the beds despite warnings of it taking over the whole garden. Once it started to spread, I transplanted it into this pot where it was neglected. I thought it died in the summer heat. It was completely shriveled up. The little gnome worked some magic and brought life back to it for me.

 

Here is kale I planted last fall for my Winter Garden that never happened. I planted kale, lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots late last summer and was planning on succession plantings  and starting other vegetables and herbs to get us through the winter, but my pregnancy nausea set it, and I didn't accomplish a darn thing! Somehow, this kale pushed through the winter without any tending to at all.

When I was digging up the bed that I planted the tomatoes and carrots in, I found these 4 beauties. I assumed the seedlings never made it (I wouldn't water for days) I wonder how they would have turned out with consistent waterning and fertilizing

Stella and I  planted a few herbs last week: basil, thai basil, cilantro, parsley, and a thai pepper plant. I'm contemplating doing pumpkins, watermelon and okra. I still have time to get them started. Come August I plan on will go all out. In Florida we are so blessed with a year round growing season. You just have to stay on top of planting at the right times. Late summer is like spring all over again for us and I am going to take full advantage of it. If I want to be a homesteader, I can't let a few silly mishaps  hinder my desire and passion to grow my family food. (120 strong seedlings that I started from seed were all ruined throughout February and March  by various circumstances if you missed my Facebook posts.)

I was amazed that despite months of neglect, nature still brought us a few treats in our garden. I'm constantly in awe of this beautiful system God designed. Gardening is full of miracles. It was just the inspiration I needed to start "gardening as if my life depended on it."

What's growing in your garden/patio?