What I've Learned About Gardening -- Part 1

Well, it's no secret that we planted a garden back in March. I'm sure you read all about it. And -- if you didn't, well, I'll wait while you go read it now. :)

Okay, you read it right? Well, let's continue. Let me tell you what I've learned thus far from our first ever gardening experience.

• You really should wait until after the last frost. But -- down here in good ol' Georgia that's hard to determine. Needless to say, I think we'll wait a little longer next year. We lost several tomato and pepper plants because of a late frost. Lesson learned!
• Those "topsy-turvy" tomato and strawberry plants are probably worth the money. So, we will invest in some next year. Our strawberries haven't done anything (well, a few have ripened only to be eaten by the birds, bunnies, etc). And -- the only little cherry red tomato we had that was ripening has also been eaten as of this morning. Lesson learned!
• Harvest your lettuce before it bolts and flowers. As I've mentioned...this is our first garden, and we were stupidly admiring how tall our lettuce was getting. Well, after all of this torrential rain we've had, I noticed it was flowering this morning. So, after researching on the Internet, I have learned that we waited to late to harvest it. You need to harvest as soon as the hearts form. Lesson learned!
• Be sure to install a border around your garden. Jokingly, I told Brian and Opa that I wanted a cute little white picket fence around the garden. Well, we would have been better off going with that than nothing. The grass/weeds have started growing into the garden, so now we've got to correct that problem. Lesson learned!
• Don't leave the water on at the faucet when it is attached to the hose. I had no idea that leaving the water on (hose off mind you) would cause bubbles to form along the hose. I'm assuming it has to do with the constant pressure. So, we now have a hose with bubbles, and we're waiting for it to burst. Lesson learned!
• Do what you can to eliminate all garden pests and insects. While homeschooling sweet Caleb, we learned that marigolds will fend off insects in the garden. Apparently they have a stinch that is not liked by insects. So, next year we will invest in a ton of marigolds to fend off all the garden insects. Lesson learned!

So, as you can tell, we have learned a lot from our gardening experience. But -- be warned...the season isn't over, so I'm sure I've got more lessons to be learned. I'm sure Part 2 is just around the corner. So, stay tuned...
And -- learn from my mistakes my gardening friends! So, what are YOUR gardening tips? Do share!