Recently, my neighbor and I were comparing notes on our vegetable gardens so far this Spring.  What was doing well, what wasn’t.  What seeds germinated easily, what didn’t.  She always has a prolific vegetable garden, one that I look upon with envy for not only it’s abundance, but for the inventive structures she builds to support and maximize her produce.  Tall trellises for peas and long tunnels that straddle raised beds for beans, for example.  This year, we’ve both had rows of lettuces and carrots that only partially germinated. For something new, she tried sowing Brussel Sprouts only to find the slugs loved them. I tried Romanesco and found that the slugs loved them to death!  Overall, much of our plantings seem to be in a holding pattern, waiting for some secret signal from Mother Nature to get into high growing gear.  

One vegetable that is growing remarkably differently between us is our potato plants.  Though we planted at the same time, literally the same day, mine are twice the size of hers.  The difference, we discovered, probably came down to fertilization. Before planting my spuds, I mixed in some Dr. Earth’s Organic Tomato, Vegetable and Herb Fertilizer into the soil.  She planted without any such amendment.  Honestly, this is not an endorsement for any particular brand of fertilizer. The Dr. Earth’s is just what I had leftover from last year.  But it does demonstrate that giving your veggies a little extra food in their growing medium can be helpful.  I didn’t do that in with all my veggies, and looking back, maybe I should have. 

How’s your garden growing so far this year?  Any learnings to share?