Today I ripped out bean plants that had been stripped of all their baby beans and blossoms.
I ripped out the overwintered Piccolo Dattero tomato plants because the ripening tomatoes disappeared before I had a chance to even think about harvesting them.
Tomorrow I'll rip out the rest of the tomato plants because my chances of harvesting a ripe tomato from any of the plants are about as good as hell freezing over.
I've poured more resources into rodent gullets and the compost bin than into the harvest basket. I've poured time, energy, and resources into harvesting meagre harvests. It's all out of whack. I could buy the most fancy, esoteric, rare, and desirable culinary treats for what I've invested in my garden of late.
I just will not feed rodents anymore.
Done.
Finished.
Fed up.
Angry.
Frustrated.
Crying my eyes out.
Just
can't
do it
anymore.
My blog is my garden journal. It's meant to document what I grow and what I do with my harvests. But I just don't have the heart to document the final days, the wind down, the end of what used to be a fulfilling, filling, and rewarding experience.
It's too depressing.
I just can't express what I'm feeling right now. I've lost a beloved friend. I've lost a part of me. I am a gardener, a passionate gardener, and I'm losing that. I'm not sure where to go from here.
I'm sorry for such a depressing post.
But here's my last hurrah. The final documented harvests. Forgive me for the lack of details, but I'm just not in the mood.
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| Upstate Abundance Potatoes |
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| Badger Flame Beets |
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| Filderkraut Cabbage |
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| Tromba D'Albenga Squash |
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| 7082 Experimental Cucumber |
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| Filderkraut Cabbage |
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| Tromba D'Albenga Squash Yellow Cabbage Collards |
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| Turkish Sweet Peppers |
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| 7082 Experimental Cucumber |
Harvest Monday is hosted by Dave on his blog Our Happy Acres, head on over there to see much more inspiring harvest posts.
Hope your garden is a much more happy place than mine.
Bye for now.
Sure, Michelle, take a break. Maybe the rodents will move on. But please don't leave us forever. I rely on your knowledge and advice, and am always inspired by what you grow, even if you yourself are not. Typical example...this post. Look at the great results! Most of us would be happy with what you consider a salvage.
ReplyDeleteThank you Will.I won't be leaving forever, I love gardening too much to give it up completely, but I do sorely need a break. I know that the harvests look good but what's left in the garden now is a fraction of what it would normally be at this time of year. It's hard to take.
DeleteIt's been tough just to read from afar about your troubles with rodents, and I can't imagine what it is like to be living with it. Of course there will always be things to go wrong, but you've had more than your fair share for several years now! I can understand you need to do whatever it takes to make some kind of peace with all this. Like Will said, maybe the rodents will move out if you deny them their food source. Gardening should be joyful, and not a cause for misery. Thank you for sharing all your gardening wisdom, you have been an inspiration for me too. Hopefully you can find a way to somehow 'reboot' your gardening and find your joy and passion for it again.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave. Honestly, I'm tired of reporting the latest rodent woes. But I'm already thinking about what I can do in the space. It won't be so focused on veggies anymore but I can't just leave it empty. You know that saying about one door closing and another opening, that's what I'm contemplating. It's been a joy sharing my experiences in the garden and learning from other gardeners and I can't give that up either. I'll be back one of these days but it's going to take a while.
DeleteYeah. I hear you. I gave up, too, but for a different reason, on July 6, after everything burned to a crisp in 114 degree temperature, at the beginning of summer. I've enjoyed our message exchanges greatly. Enjoy your freedom!
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe the heat that you've been enduring. We've been pretty insulated from the worst of it here, even the latest round of triple digit temperatures have escaped us because the the prevailing winds have been onshore. We've got a cooling breeze from the ocean and the fog comes in almost every night. I hope you get a break. I'm sure a bit of June Gloom would be a welcome treat for you now.
DeleteOh Michelle. I’m so sorry to read your anguish. I understand how your garden is part of your identity and how heartbreaking this constant struggle and finally deciding to hit pause (and perhaps stop) must be. If there’s anything life has taught me in the past three years, it is this: there’s more joy to come.
ReplyDeleteI remember thinking how heartbreaking it must have been for you to leave your wonderful garden when you moved to the Bay Area and then all the change that you endured after that. Yes, there will be more joy to come from my garden, no doubt. Thank you.
DeleteI am so sorry that you feel so defeated. Must admit that we are finding this year challenging but due to the weather and thankfully not rodents, Maybe after a break you will feel ready to have another go.
ReplyDeleteThere is always some challenge, more some years than others. I've always joked that I'll quit gardening when I have the perfect year. Well, I can't quit yet because this has been far from a perfect year. A break is definitely in order though.
DeleteJust want to thank you for an entertaining and informative blog.Surprisingly the varieties you recommended such as the oddessa market pepper worked well in Wyoming.
ReplyDeleteJon, I'm so happy you've found my blog entertaining and informative, thank you. I often turn to short season varieties like Odessa Market because they generally tend to perform well in my cool coastal climate. Thanks for reading!
DeleteI can empathise with your feelings here Michell after last year rodentfest on our plots, bu their population appears to have crashed over the Winter and are now down to much more manageable numbers. Thank you for sharing your harvests, and I hope that after a break you might feel like starting with one or two bits and pieces next season. Best wishes
ReplyDeleteOh lucky you, not about the rodentfest, but that your winter seems to have done them in. I think that the rodents tend to proliferate in the mild winters here and then the dried out summer landscape sends them in droves to my garden. I'll take a rest and then resume with a new plan, probably not quite so many veggies, but I'll be growing something. Thank you reading, commenting, and your best wishes.
DeleteOh Michelle, please take a break, but please don't give up. My allotment plot was set on fire deliberately by people on the allotment when I lived in Glasgow and it broke my heart and I hated it as that was the whole premise of my blog, my enjoyment - a part of me, but I found another way that made me happy - growing in pots closer to home, its not the same, but it kept my hands dirty and now I have a bit more of a garden space - I just don't have the heart to grow amongst other people now. I wonder if you could do something similar. Find a different way to express your love of veg on the table, but please don't give up. I love the different varieties of veg you share, this week the badger flame beets! And your harvest this week is still amazing. Don't let the beasties win.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, what you experienced is so much worse than rodent attacks, rodents don't attack with malice. Like you I will keep my hands dirty, but not in a way to keep rodent bellies full. Gardening is in our blood, we can't let evil people and beasties get the better of us. Once I figure out a way to make gardening a joy again I'll be back to share.
DeleteOh, Michelle - I'm so incredibly sad about your plight. I can't even imagine what you are feeling - way beyond frustration, that's for sure. You have obviously been fighting a downhill battle and sometimes, the best thing for our well-being and sanity is to call it quits. For the time being, anyhow. I'm wondering why the rodents are so voracious lately. After years of on again/off again battles, it seems as if it's an all out war lately.
ReplyDeleteI truly hope this is a blip in your gardening story and not the end of the tale. Perhaps a LONG break - as in a few seasons - will have the rodents looking elsewhere for their meals (hopefully very far away) and will give you the motivation to try again. If not, that's ok - everyone has to do what's best for them and their own happiness. Just know that I have learned so much from you over the years. You are part of my blogging family and I will miss you and your posts like crazy. XOXO
Margaret, thank you so much. Our garden blogging community does feel like family. And I so much enjoy sharing with and learning from our family. I'll still be reading and commenting but the sharing part will be on hiatus.
DeleteI really don't know why the rodents are such an extreme problem this year, the worst ever in the 11 years I've been here, but it's reality and I just have to work with it. So my gardening adventures will continue, but in a different way, and once I figure out that new way I'll be back to share.
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ReplyDeleteMichelle,
ReplyDeleteYou post was tough to read. Your anguish over the destruction of so much good work was heartbreaking. Like many others I've long admired your skill at growing such a wide variety of veggies and benefited from the insights you offered in your posts. Such good work takes time, lots of time, and no small amount of knowledge and persistence.
Here on the other side of the Laureles Grade we've had our share of rat and mice problems. Recently, however, the number of rat and mice in our neighborhood appears to have decreased - at least the destruction caused by vermin has decreased. A while back a neighbor installed three owl boxes around our properties. The boxes are occupied, so we know there are owls around - we can hear them at night. We believe it has made a difference for us, so perhaps it could make a difference for you. It may not eradicate the vermin but it could reduce their numbers to a tolerable level.
Have you considered consulting with a professional pest controller? You were, I think, at the CV Garden Club when Rebecca Dmytryk gave her presentation. Her company is called Humane Wildlife Control and they are located in Moss Landing. Her website is www.humanecontrol.com. They use a variety of eco-friendly tools - such as owl boxes - to control rodents and other vermin. Rebecca seemed experienced and knowledgeable, perhaps she could help.
Along with many others, I have greatly benefited from reading your posts and hope that despite these painful setbacks you can rediscover the joy in your garden.
Ed, it was a tough post to write. It means that I have finally had to truly accept that gardening in the way that I've become accustomed to is just not sustainable. The time, effort, and resources that I've had to commit to the garden and battling the rodents are all out of whack with the benefits. It's time to do something different.
DeleteI often think about Rebecca's presentation and have considered putting in an owl box but decided against it for various reasons. I think the key to the success of your owl boxes is that you have them spread around the properties. One box on my property probably won't make much of a difference in my garden although it might help my neighbors. It would be best to spread a few of them around the neighborhood and perhaps I should suggest that to our neighborhood association.
Thank you so much for your interest and concern and ideas, I truly appreciate it.
Hello Michelle,
ReplyDeleteYour blog has been a great inspiration to me and a great resource. Being a Calif gardener, but in San Diego, I can grow most of what you grow but at slightly different times. You have expanded my horizons greatly, and I appreciate that. I am not going to be growing capers, but i am growing/grew Thai amaranth, early Violette favas, and I'itoi because of your documented experiences. You have been very,very generous to share your experience and your recipes for harvest use. Thank you so much.
I will say that i have had bad rat years, and not so bad. I have pulled out my garden because of them... waiting for tomatoes just to have them eaten by rats is aweful. I'm with you about denying those bastards if you can't have your own vegetables. I live in a suburb and my problem years improve once a rat stronghold has been found and routed. Twice the strongholds were under a shed - my own and the neighbors. But i am still a vegetable gardener and hopefully you will have better years in the future. Warmly , Curt
Hi Curt,
DeleteIt makes me really very happy to know that I've inspired you to be more adventurous in your garden. You obviously know first hand what I'm dealing with at the moment and your experiences give me hope that my garden may see better days. Thank you so much for your thoughtful and hopeful comment.
This is so sad! I have always loved your garden posts and interesting stuff you grow and interacting with you! And you have been around for a while along with me! It was nice to see a familiar face when I returned to blogging. I hope to see you growing again once the rodents find another place to torture, maybe more on IG ;). I hate to see them buggers ruin your love.
ReplyDeleteIt's an incredibly tough decision you've had to make. Your ability to garden year round and to see all the unusual fun vegetables you grow has been inspiring. There's many a variety I've grown after seeing your thoughts on them. I wonder if the fires have been displacing and moving the rodents into your area.
ReplyDelete