Monday, June 24, 2013

Failures. :(

When I started this blog I decided I would share the struggles I have with gardening as well as the accomplishments.  On that note, I have had two major failures this year, I hope that sharing them will help others avoid the same mistakes and maybe I can get some advice on how to improve as well.

First, my thyme plant which had been growing merrily for two or three years died all of a sudden.  I think it drowned, since it was planted at the corner of the shed where runoff from the roof would land.  I bought a new one and plan to plant it out in the area near the blueberry bush, but I am sad that the old one is gone.

My second big failure is my rhubarb.  I kind of saw this one coming though, I knew that planting it in a pot would be risky.  Last year it seemed to do well enough, and this year I was looking forward to seeing a harvest.  It filled in really well early in the spring, but the stalks were hollow and not very tasty, and then they started dying back until now.  Now there is only one leaf left on the poor thing.  I'm going to plant it at the end of the strawberry bed, with some fresh compost and see if the new spot will perk it up a bit.  I hope it survives, it was kind of expensive and I'd like to avoid replacing it if possible.

My artichokes also seem to be struggling with being in pots.  This is their second year and still they have not produced the flower buds that are the edible part of the artichoke.  I think I'm just better off putting all of my perennials in the ground.

We will wait and see if they improve any with replanting.

2 comments:

  1. My rhubarb did that last year. It wasn't in a pot, but it just kind of rotted and disappeared. I thought it was gone, but lo and behold, it not only came back up this spring, it came up bigger and better than ever! Good luck with yours!

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    1. Glad to know it wasn't just me! I actually noticed yesterday that there are already a few new leaves popping out. Still have no idea why it died back, but at least it seems to be recovering.

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