For those who know me, it’s not much of a secret that I don’t have much of a green thumb.  I’ve been known to kill even the heartiest of houseplants.

Despite that, I still managed to have some mild gardening success last year.  I figured I must have been doing something right, so I kept doing what I was doing.

But the weather has worked against me.  First it was very cold, then very wet.  And now, it’s just too darn hot.

Nothing in my garden is doing very well in this heat.  I only have a handful of small, green tomatoes growing on the vine.  My broccoli just doesn’t seem to want to come to a head.  My carrots never really came up (I blame last year’s seeds on that!), and once again, one weird-shaped green pepper appeared and then that was it.

My boys planted bean plants from seed in preschool, and those have done well. We’ve already eaten a family-sized serving of beans from our four little plants, and I expect to be eating more beans later this week.   I’m seeing a few zucchini, but not nearly the volume we’ve had in years’ past.

I know that I haven’t been as diligent about watering as I need to be in this heat.  If I water in the morning before it gets hot, or during the cool of the evening, I get carried away by swarms of mosquitoes.  If I water when it’s hotter, I’m miserable, and it feels so counterproductive.

I don’t think I’m cut out to be a farmer.

We have quite a few wild raspberry bushes in our backyard, but they’re not looking great either.  I was able to get enough raspberries for my very favorite dessert, but not enough to use for much else.  I’ll have to put on some bug spray and venture deeper into the woods where it is wetter and cooler for some decent raspberries I think.

Fortunately, I didn’t invest much money in this year’s garden – less than $15 in plants and supplies – so I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to harvest at least that much worth of produce.

How is your garden growing?  I’d love to hear about your success (or challenges!).