In with the new and out with the overwatered

Last week down here in coastal Alabama we had an absurd amount of rainfall. Usually to a gardner that would be a good thing. More rain = no need to turn the sprinkler on. Something I would normally rejoice over but when you can't go out in the garden for almost three weeks it does a number not only to me but also to the plants (note the tomato "sticks" coming out of the pots).

I sit around stuck in the house just thinking about how terrible everything is going to look. How overgrown my cucumber plants are going to be. How much work I'm going to have to do to restart everything. But then the excitement starts to roll in again. Just like in the spring time minus the excessive amounts of humidity and heat. I can't wait to get out there and dig my hands into the earth. I get to plant little seeds that will turn into big beautiful plants with veggies galore as opposed to my bin of lettuce mush.

This is the time where I can't get enough literature on gardening and all of the age old advice from veteran gardeners. The public library is my go to place. I get to let the little ones play in the kid section while I dive into a good read about planting pumpkin seeds in June. My most recent find has been Month-by-Month Gardening in Alabama. This book has been like heaven during the recent rainy days. I love this book so much I decided to purchase it to add to my collection of go-to reads.

I finally got up enough courage to take a peek at the damage tropical storm Cindy had done. It wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be. The garden definitely has to be completely redone but it is that time of the year anyway.

My herbs however must have really needed a good watering or they were just well sheltered from the storm against the side of my shed because they look great! The oregano is just about taking over one little corner of my herb garden and the cilantro that I had planted from seed before the down pour is finally starting to look like cilantro.

The blueberries though...checking on my three bushes hurt deep. I was only able to collect maybe 1/3 of a cup of berries and thats it. For the entire season. What's the point of even attempting to put those up?! I ended up saving them for the boys' breakfast which they were very pleased to gobble up in 5 seconds while I cried silent sobs in the corner. I am going to have to visit a local blueberry garden down the road from me just to be able to store some for future blueberry muffins and such. But that doesn't bother me in the least! It's always fun to see what other gardeners are growing and how they have plotted it all out.

So with the start of a new gardening season that was forced upon me three weeks early thanks to Cindy, I remember that God's timing is perfect in everything. Maybe He will guide me to find a new gardening buddy who grows pears due to the fruitlessness of mine. Perhaps He will lead me to a person who has a better way of naturally fertilizing my blueberries to result in a higher yield next year. There is always a purpose, a plan, and a lesson to learn. It's kind of a love hate relationship haha. I love learning new ways of doing things to perfect the way I accomplish tasks but I hate having to fail first to make that happen.

If you look hard enough though, you will find God plants little glimpses of hope around you. For instance this fig is on the verge of becoming ripe and I'm on my last jar of strawberry fig preserves! Until next time friends!