I think the Lord is testing me

I think he wants to know just how bad I want a garden this year. :) First it is the horrible clay soil, then it is aphids on my tomatoes and this past week we have had so much rain in KY it is unreal. The rain washed away 3 rows of my beans, my row of cucumbers, all of my squash and all but one of my banana pepper plants. I've only been a member about a week, but love this site, so assuming I do finally get some vegetables from the garden, is the recipe forum the place to check for canning recipes. I just want to get started.
But I really love my garden, it is what keeps me sane or crazy one. I dug a trench around both of my 30' X 30' gardens today. Now I'm just waiting for the rain to stop and my garden to dry out. So I'm trying to pass this test, wish me luck.

Sometimes we just have bad years! But not always. Hang in there! :)

Look at www.growfood.com it seems this method (more with theraised beds) would really help you next year.

Good luck Jamaica, that is what makes us so special, being able to with-stand whatever comes our way. You'll be fine, just think of it as if you were starting out NOW, and the past was literally water under the bridge, no pun intended. The world is your's my friend, now go and make the most of it. Your gardening friend, Danny

Dan, is right no matter what happens I look at others who have less than myself, or those with poor health and know that Im ok.

Yes we all go thru times of difficulty and stress...

thats why we garden, right????

keep plugging away. remember, next year will be a better.

Jamaica, hang in there! We sure have gotten a lot of rain, every day for the last two weeks it's poured! I have been fairly lucky though, only lost a few gourd plants. Everything else is doing fine except a second planting of beans which I'm afraid have rotted in the ground. And we're supposed to get more rain all next week!

How are the rest of you in KY making out?

I've been really lucky this year....the worst of the rain has missed us. I did raise my rows way above the level of the garden in anticipation of the annual monsoons.

I dug a double row and then raked one of them over the top of the one I intended to plant. This gave me a high planting ridge and a trench beside it. They drain great.

jamaica...I lost my veggies the last 2 years in a row. If you look back through some of the ancient threads of the last few years, our KY rain,hail and wind storms are documented thoroughly. You are not alone.

By the way....where in KY are you? I'm south of Paducah and West of the Lakes.

I only have half of my garden planted, but what is there is doing fine. It did get too wet to work the last couple of weeks, but at least I'm ahead of the last 2 years by a long shot.

I swore I'd never complain about rain after the last bad dry season. Still, ELEVEN INCHES in May!?

The cool, soggy weather delayed us getting our 30 eggplants in the ground, and they were straining at the pots, but seem to have done ok now that they're planted. The big problem has been slugs-big time slug damage ro peppers and lettuce, despite our best efforts. Peas, spinach and onions thrived in the monsoon, though. Raised beds kept us from having a washout on our sloping plot.

Thx to all of you for replying. I haven't signed on in almost a week, BECAUSE I have been replanting my garden while I count my blessings. Which are many and I have enjoyed my replanting. I pulled my head out of the sand and reminded myself of all my blessings and lost almost 7 pounds (sweat equity). It has been very humid here. I was even so inspired that I tilled up another garden and tried so new things that I have never grown before. And cleaned out most of the items I had left from last years garden and took them to all my elderly neighbors who cannot raise gardens anymore. They were very appreciative and I feel like a million bucks.

I am going to check out the growfood site Thx for the insight. I can use all the help I can get. I am located about 60 miles N of Nashville TN near Bowling Green, KY about 12 miles from Barren River Lake. Heaven on earth.

Thx again to all of you and best of luck to everyone on their gardens this year.

Big containers/pots can sometimes make the difference in where or not you get any harvest some years. We use old washing machine and clothers dryer tubs, big flower pots, and raised beds. Some years one works better, some years another works better. Admittedly, there do seem to be years when nothing seems to work very well. We do have a few, very few mind you, veggies on ground level. That is mostly reserved for flowers, shrubs, etc.

What do you grow in these containers, leaflady? I am interested in something different with growing veggies. I am hoping to do raised beds next year. Just hope to be able to get more blocks by then and get them filled up. Robbie