In some ways our first garden was successful. We did manage to grow a few tomatoes, some wonderfully sweet strawberries. Fresh basil, rosemary and thyme are used in a more than a few fresh dishes (see our recipe page for a couple of wonderful dishes). Although they were small, we even managed a few cucumbers.
Sadly both insects and deer got to my Brussel sprouts. Although our zucchini flowered like crazy, for some reason we were robbed of this wonderful fruit. We also failed to produce a single pepper despite our plants growing strong all year.
It's easy to blame this on a lot of things. Not having the plants watered enough or the right container or 1001 other things that could have gone wrong. I'm concentrating on the positive. My lovely wife Susan loves to make and eat simple tomato sandwiches. Sadly raw tomato does horrors to my digestive tract, but I can eat them after they have been cooked in some way.
I proved to myself that I could grow something other than a plastic house plant and in a small way, have a proof of concept for bigger efforts in the future. Even now we are in the process of preparing a bigger area for next years garden.
We hope that by having decided to continue with the container garden closer to the house and, in theory at least, they will be better protected against deer that seem to wander through our yard sometimes. Our strawberries (and blueberries next year) will be planted under netting, again to protect them.
My two dogwoods seem to be doing well, although it will be another few years before they flower. I'm debating about planting one or two apple trees, although the PawPaw, Persimmons and mulberry bush appeal to something deep in me. Maybe it's just the name being fun to say or that they seem so rare and exotic.
We are still planning on putting in a dwarf apple or two though. Diversity is never a bad thing, and different fruiting seasons for each plant is beneficial not only to us, but the animals as well.
I reminded myself that what I'm trying to do is not for me. It's my legacy for some future hiker or family. I want to try and find plants that can tolerate drought and heat, help store carbon but are still native to the area. It is not something that I will learn over night. It's going to take time and research and a lot of trial and error.
The fruit of my labor - pun intended - would still be at least 7 years from the original planting. If they fruit at all as things will undoubtedly get worse between now and then.
It is going to take patience and hard work on my part.
I also know that it just makes economic sense; the investments I make today will pay off tomorrow. At least I hope they will in some small way. Fruit trees will not only store carbon in their trunks but help cool the air around my home as well as feed my family.
There are lots of ways to plan for the heat now and in the future. We just have to be smart about things and realize that what we do affects our future. Little steps today turn into big steps in the future.
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