Garden Diary: More setbacks

Our hoop house is buttoned up with wire fencing after a deer got in and chewed off most of our spinach.

We have had more setbacks in the garden. A deer ate nearly all of our spinach, reaching over the thigh-high fence surrounding the hoop house to get it. G. put up the fence to keep rabbits out but wasn’t worried about deer since they’ve never eaten anything in there before. Live and learn. There’s now wire fencing covering the top of the box too.

Then, today, G. found a rabbit in the main garden. He doesn’t think he ate anything, but it’s a worry because if one can get in, so can others, and eventually, they will all chow.

Meanwhile, we found out that our strawberry plants are old and unlikely to produce much this year. They peak at three years, and our plants are four years old. Last year, we were getting gallon buckets of strawberries every day or so. This year, we are getting a few quarts. G. is incredibly sad because maintaining the patch is such hard work. He has invested hundreds of hours in it.

But again, live and learn. We should have built the plot in increments and then gradually replaced one section every three years. We replaced one this year, and we will likely do another, where the plants are really showing their age. Then, next year, we will replace more and try to get into a rotation.

I told G. that the garden is a test of patience and faith. We just need to do the best we can and be grateful for whatever we get. For example, last year, we got no peas, and this year, so far, those plants are doing well. But neither of us is very patient, so this is hard lesson for us to learn.