After five or six years, Chez Jessica's DH has a garden

15 years ago

My DH loves gardens. He used to plant ours every year, but we haven't the past five or six because we've been busy with remodeling and now his job is eating him alive.

Stupid me suggested we start one again. He really doesn't have time, we should have waited one more year. But he is so happy! Here are some shots.

Tell Nancy (WizardNM) to NOT look too closely at his tshirt in this shot of our lower site, which I call the 'Lower 40'. Thats a used tiller he bought years ago. Not as big or bad as Annie's, LOL, but we don't have the acreage (or a place to store) a tractor. We planted gourds, a few giant pumpkins, and DH insisted on flowers here. I hate flowers. You can't eat them. They sometimes make a mess in the house. I consider them plant genitalia and utterly useless. I'm so NOT a romantic.

This is the plot of ten rows just above the 'Lower 40' - I call it 'Top Ten' just to differentiate which one I'm supposed to water (until the drip system kicks in). The shadow is from one of our two fig trees. Here we've planted tomatoes, peppers (hot and sweet), eggplant, shiso, basil, more flowers, corn, cucumbers, gourds, carrots, white pumpkin, watermelons, green beans, beets. Flowers in both spots include calendula, three kinds of sunflowers, zinnias, bachelor buttons, coneflowers, aw who cares I hate flowers.

Here is our tomato row - those two big ones are Sungolds (I tried them at Annie's a few years ago, and got hooked). DH #2 had just finished a Renaissance report so he named one Copernicus and the other Ptolemy. I don't know which is which. Boring Early Girls and Better Boys are on either side, but they will both beat supermarket maters.

I think these are neglected blackberries.

I guess I'll have to update as we go and grow!

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Comments (39)

bubbeskitchen
15 years ago
Nice legs! I mean garden.
Well now, that is inspiring isn't it? Quite a large garden for anyone no less without time to work it.
Keep the photos coming as the garden progresses. I miss ours sometimes, but being part-timers didn't allow much gardening and besides, the trees around our property grew too tall and made too much shade.
Alas, I can only appreciate other's efforts.

RenÃ©e
Gina_W
15 years ago
Why isn't he wearing crocs? The white shoes will be a mess. Can't read the tee - got a close-up?

Yay, a garden! More canning opportunities. BTW how are the figs doing? Just asking...
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Reading your story makes me laugh out loud. My husband, bless his heart is not very mechanical. He installed a ceiling fan above our brand new cherry table. Looked great but he didn't attach it to the beam. Needless to say we bought a new table. I do alot of gardening. So I buy mushroom compost by the ton. Hubby set the trailer up for me and said "your all set to go". Went to go pick up the compost (which is about half horse poop), went to leave the parking lot and felt a huge tug on the back of the truck. The trailer was BOUNCING up and down the very busy highway. I thought I blew a tire. NOOOOOOOOOOOO- hubby didn't have a pin for the trailer so he secured it with a STRING. I am not kidding. I ended up spreading 70 feet of horse poop-no wait- stinking horse poop down the one lane of a very busy highway. Cars were sliding in, honking at me, some guy gave me the finger?!?!?! Fines + tickets+new trailer+cost of cleanup = $3500.00 Needless to say I bought a new trailer and it came with a pin on a chain. I laugh now, but I could have killed him. Your father is right. I say if it's not cancer, then it's not worth the worry. Remember, he will rope the moon for you. He could be trying to please someone else instead of you. Don't beat him up over it, he is already doing that to himself. They really do want to be the knight on that white horse. I read "the proper care and feeding of husbands" CHANGED MY LIFE, MY ATTITUDE, MY MARRIAGE. I fully and whole heartly recommend to any married woman who wants to improve their marriage. Get it on cd and listen to it over and over. Be sure to shut off your own internal dialogue, so you can really absorb. I am NO ONE to give advice, but I try to remember this stuff when I want to "verbally smack" him with all of his mistakes. Forgetting to remind him of how absolutly wonderful he is to me. Again, I am no one to give advice. Women think they know everything and WELL WE DO. Men are far less complicated than us. However, they are deeper than we realize. Make him feel like your hero or someone else will. Why risk it?? Your going to spend $$$$ on a kitchen remodel. Spend the $15 on this cd. You will recover 2,000% of your investment on the cd. Maybe 85% on the kitchen. I wish i would have had this book BEFORE i got married. So put on something sexy, make his favorite meal and let him how much he is appreciated.
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lindac
15 years ago
Day lilies make a wonderful addition to a salad....and if you didn't have any of that plant genetalia you wouldn't have the pregnant pod we call a fruit or vegatable.....well except for lettuce!
Linda C....who prefers the farmer's market for my veggies and flowers in the yard.
shaun
15 years ago
Hope ants don't get him.

Can't wait to see more pictures of the garden as it grows.
canarybird01
15 years ago
That's a good sized garden Jessy and cheers to your hubs for getting it started!

Sounds like you're going to have a great bounty for your kitchen in the coming months. I do like the choice of flowers as well and yes, you CAN eat calendula. Tear off the petals and scatter them through a green salad.
I'm still looking for seeds for my garden as I used to grow them years ago.
Keep the photos coming! I miss my green bean and tomato patches so I just might do that again next spring too.

SharonCb
jessyf
Original Author
15 years ago
Renee, I'll try to NOT kill anything. Sigh. I have a black thumb.

Gina, he HATES Crocs. And those are his gardening shoes. He has LOTS of those. The t-shirt was a swap gift from Nancy, but DH took it from me :-/ Figs are leafy, but no fruit yet!

LOL Linda I don't mind flowers ON plants when they are doing a useful job.

No ants so far, Shaun. But with time, I'm sure they will be.

(SharonCB I also hate making salads....but I'll keep the calendula suggestion in mind! I almost thought of throwing in some nasturtiums for just that reason, I like their peppery taste.)
denise8101214
15 years ago
Wow! Lots and lots of work to get to the garden up and running, I can tell. Those might be boysenberries. And sunflowers are food! (and coneflowers are medicinal, aren't they?) Do you poison, smash or eat snails? Or offer them beer?
KatieC
15 years ago
Niiiice. I am jealous of all that green. The snow is ALMOST gone off my garden (83 today...it better be all the way gone when I get home). That tiller's about the size of my ancient Troybilt, which started on the first pull this year...poor old thing just keeps chugging.

Gardening is good for your health on so many levels....especially if DH's job is eating him alive. That's exactly why we put mine back in last year.

We just planted 'Nasties' at StoryTime...not one parent knew they were edible. They also repel bugs on your vegies. (They let me play with the kids for a change...we also made Chia Guys out of paper coffee cups, complete with googly eyes and pompom noses and planted with wheat 'hair').
dlynn2
15 years ago
How many husbands do you have??? ("DH #2 had just finished a Renaissance report..."). I guess it takes a lot of husbands to satisfy that Evil Jessy!

My DH doesn't find flowers romantic either. Many,many years ago I mentioned to him that he had never sent me flowers. His response was "If I gave you flowers your cats would just eat them and then puke all over and you'd have to clean it up. There is nothing romantic about cleaning up cat puke, so that's why I don't bring you flowers." Sounds good, but actually he was just too cheap to buy them!
stacy3
15 years ago
Lol dlynn.

What a great looking garden Jessy! Can't wait to see more pics as it grows. Keep us in on it, OK?

Stacy
dedtired
15 years ago
Wow. Seeing DH#1 out there pushing that tiller is almost enough to make me want to get married again -- almost. What a good guy. I am happy to see he is wearing white socks and not black!

The garden is gorgeous. A labor of love. You have that much room and you live in LA? Every house I've seen in LA is about three feet away from its closest neighbor.

I am the opposite of you. I have lots of flowers and one tomato plant (a Better Boy). Even that I have to cover with net to protect from the birds. Veggies are a nuisance and I can buy beautiful ones from local organic farmers. However, I get huge satisfaction from any tomato I grow, so I understand why people love a vegetable garden.

Keep us posted on how your garden grows.
annie1992
15 years ago
Jessica, those Sungolds are just delicious, sweet and good, aren't they? I'm going tonight to pick up my plants, so you're way ahead of me.

Gardening IS good for DH, and I know you only have one. Geez, I think one is more than enough trouble for most people, even Jessica, LOL.

That tiller isn't quite as big as mine, but mine is too big and I have to fight with it, it drags me around. Elery's is smaller and he's going to bring his up for me to use, he'll use the monster machine.

And that reminds me, I promised Elery I'd plant canteloupe, so I have to pick up some more seeds.

Annie
lpinkmountain
15 years ago
I love a man who can rototill!! :)
I am so envious. My tiny yard needs so much work right now. I spent 3 hours out there yesterday and barely scratched the surface. Loved every minute of it though. Sometimes ya just gotta plant some greenery, it's the best medicine I know of, besides finally getting to taste some of those 'maters and maybe followed closely by putting up some of your own salsa, followed most closely by EATING it six months later.
Happy gardening!
triciae
15 years ago
Jessy, I love your garden. But your DH is correct...every garden needs flowers! I'm with Linda...I'll buy the veggies from the local farmer's market & fill my garden with jasmine, lilies, lilacs, daphne, & fragrant summer blooming azaleas.

I envy you the tomatoes though. I can't grow them here. There's little better than a sun-ripened tomato just picked from the garden.

BTW, DH looks mighty good manhandling that tiller!

/tricia
Gina_W
15 years ago
Yes, I forgot to say - "nice legs!"
diana55
15 years ago
JESSY...GET "TARZAN" SOME SHORTS TO GO WITH THAT HAT.........
LOL DIANA55
Terri_PacNW
15 years ago
Nothin better than sunflowers to bring in the pollinators Jessy..the other flowers will do so too...so they serve a purpose..more fruit from you "veggie" blossoms. lol

I ate lettuce from my garden tonight...yummy!
jessyf
Original Author
15 years ago
Denise, come to think of it, I haven't seen any snails. Hmmm. Too bad they aren't kosher....

Katie, DH says thats a Troybilt too. Shrug! Hey, post a picture/instructions of those chia pets, will ya? They sound fun!

dlynn, yeah, I saw that typo AFTER I hit submit. Sigh. I've got a handful with ONE husband, thankyouverymuch.

Stacy/Pam, yes ma'am, I'll keep pictures coming on this thread. Its beastly hot here today so I'm NOT going outside unless I have to! As far as our lot size: DH is a homebody, not a golfer/weekend warrior. We specifically looked for a place with LAND. He also hates neighbors piled on top of each other. One of the first weekend projects he did after we moved in, after he took care of transplanting his beloved cacti/bromeliads, was to build a stream and pond. He wanted koi fish in the worst way but our neighbors above us used some sort of herbicide in their garden and the run off after a rain killed them all, so now we have hardy goldfish. No, we don't eat them.

Annie the Sungolds aren't quite ready yet, but I see a couple of fruit!

lpink/Tricia we do have a rose garden, and I think even a wisteria. Somewhere we have a night blooming Cereus that I love.

Good idea Diana. DH does tend to end up with lots of gag Tshirts and undies!

Terri, I've always wanted a sunflower 'maze'. I just keep forgetting to ask for one (notice I didn't say that I would plant it heh heh)
lakeguy35
15 years ago
I guess you didn't need the whip for this project. Looks to be a great garden, flowers and all. With all of those levels y'all must have a great view from the house. Now, I want to see him playing in his outdoor kitchen. Keep us posted EJ.

David
msazadi
15 years ago
Wow..you have a garden which should be good considering your climate. Sorry dh is having it rough at work; sounds as if they are all falling apart on your coast.

Perhaps the garden Chez Jessy's Man will be a new stop on the peninsula tour. bwhwhwhwhaaa
stacy3
15 years ago
How's the garden Jessica? pics?
shaun
15 years ago
Yes! How does your garden grow??
jessyf
Original Author
15 years ago
OK OK beaten into submission

Will post later today
jessyf
Original Author
15 years ago
Update on the garden. Apologies! So far we are harvesting sungold tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, golden beets. The radishes are Âsenior citizensÂ and are ready to be pulled up and replanted. The peppers are big but havenÂt turned colors yet Â we ate one, and realized it wasnÂt ripe. Carrots are almost ready. Watermelons need to be thinnedÂ.and the beans are flowering and climbing into the fig trees. Edamame is doing fine but still young. The eggplants have nice flowers!

Here is an overview shot of the upper section from June 24th:

And here it is from yesterday:

The lower section has come quite a ways too. Those are sunflowers on the left, and cantaloupe/gourds on the right. Center section (flowers and carrots) havenÂt done so well.

Hidden on the left: giant pumpkins.

Dwarfed by the corn and sunflowers. IÂm topping the basil. Behind me are the cucumbers.

My shiso is filling in quite nicely, I have more than this! Happy camper!

The sungold tomatoes are doing great, no change. The other ones (Better boys and Early Girls) have leaf curl. We see fruit, but nothing is ready to eat on either, yet.

The golden beets are doing GREAT!!!! Get out the truffle oil.

We seem to have the weeds under control. I like going out there in the evening shade to sit and weed while listening to a radio. Very calming!

Thanks for looking, kids.
compumom
15 years ago
Wow Jessy, it looks great! I'd like to be considered for the weekly farm delivery, if you don't mind! LOL

My early girls are doing ok, they'd do better if we fed them! The fruit is really sweet, but the skins are tough. Delicious off the vine but you want to spit out the skin. I think we had the same problem last year too. My other varieties haven't produced yet.
DD is doing great with her tomatoes and cukes!
annie1992
15 years ago
It looks good, Jessica. See, that basil loves it in the garden, doesn't it? Last year my basil was nearly 3 feet tall and people said it was basil on steroids. IT was just happy, LOL.

My corn isn't as big as yours, but it's gone from knee high on July 4 to shoulder high today, July 11. That's about 2 feet in 7 days, even I'm amazed.

We're getting lots of rain here so at least I haven't had to water anything. Your drip system is a good idea, sprinklers can really add to a early blight problem.

Annie
Gina_W
15 years ago
Standing in the line here too Jessica - any overflow can come my way! Watch that back - remember, bend at the knees!
canarybird01
15 years ago
What a great garden Jessy! That corn is really tall and everything else looks like it's doing just fine.

I bet your DH is happy happy!

SharonCb
centralcacyclist
15 years ago
What a garden! I'm amazed. Every year I stare at my backyard of concrete, pool, and rocks and wonder how pissed off the neighbors would be if I dug up my front side lawn... I'm on a corner.
pkramer60
15 years ago
OMG, I am so jealous, it looks great! You will be canning soon.

Peppi
dedtired
15 years ago
Holy smokes, Jess, I'm glad I checked in again. You look like a little garden gnome among the giant plants.

Looks like you will be all set for Halloween.

I will have to post a picture of my one and only tomato plant. Poor thing. It has three tomatoes on it. One the size of a marble and two ping pong balls.
brenda55
15 years ago
Now that's what I call a garden! I'm impressed! Great canning lies ahead.

Brenda
Adnama
15 years ago
Very, very nice! I'm jealous (renter in the city).

~Amanda
stacy3
15 years ago
wow!!! that looks fantastic! What a great garden.
caliloo
15 years ago
Gorgeous garden Jessy! You have dome a fantastic job!

Alexa
msazadi
15 years ago
Well done WestCoastGardners. Isn't it about time for some new pictures to make me lust after a garden again???
denise8101214
15 years ago
Well, I am one of the happy beneficiaries of all this work! and I haven't had to even harvest anything. Jessica brought me figs, peaches, giant tomatoes and tiny tomatoes. I have been eating the sungold up plain. They are delicious!

Thank you Jessica!
riverrat1
15 years ago
YUM! I wish I was your California friend :-)
mustangs81
15 years ago
Holy Carp!!! I can't believe that garden, it's amazing. It's all I can do to plant 4 earth boxes.

Does he really like maintaining the garden? Do the boys help?