As I walked through my garden few days ago, I couldn't help but feel disheartened at its state this season. Seriously, I'm still fuming and I don't even know how to start describing how disappointed I am with the crops yields.
Despite putting in the effort in planting and tending them - applying poultry droppings and organic wastes, weeding - all which I also published here, it all went to waste.
I'm particularly disappointed in the corn. I was hoping for a good yield, but it was a total letdown. In all the years that I've been gardening on that space, never have I experienced such poor harvest. I couldn't even get corn to eat.
See the harvest
The pests' infestation I complained about in my garden update post, I believe contributed to the poor yield. And the snails, oh! they really had a good feast on the maize, eating through the leaves. Then the wind came and played it's own part, knocking off some maize, and some others, bent down.
Even the sticks I used for staking the yams got bent in the wind too, but I managed to salvage them. I hope they'll hold till the yams are ready for harvest.
The pumpkin vegetables didn't fare any better. The corn overshadowed them, blocking out sunlight, and they suffered as a result.
Well, there's still some good news after all. The pumpkin vegetable from last year's planting regrew after the rain and it's thriving well. I noticed a pumpkin pod growing on it. Hopefully, in the next few months, it'll mature, and ready for planting too.
Also, the curry leaves and okra are also doing reasonably well.
Here's the okra fruits I gathered. Fresh! They're going right into my pot of soup tomorrow. 😅
Recall the pawpaw seedling I transplanted, it's growing well too. It seems like it's going to produce some fruits anytime soon. With this, I'm happy and can't wait to start harvesting them.
However, I understand farming is tough, and sometimes despite doing our best, things don't go as planned. Even at that, I was hopeful that I would at least, harvest enough corns I can even share with neighbors.
Be that as it may, I'm not giving up on my garden and that's why I decided to try again. So I cleared the garden, removing the dry maize stalks and weeding too.
I then went ahead to plant maize again. Thankfully, I have one leftover cub from the previous planting, so it came in handy.
I never wanted to use inorganic fertilizer for gardening, but with the poor yield of the previous planting, I'm left with no choice than to do so now. I'll buy some and then apply on the pumpkin vegetables and the new maize I planted, when they germinate. This time, I won't be take chances.
Finally, here's a little gift from my garden, picked it while I was weeding. Seems like I'll start a snail farm with it. 😂
Thank you for reading.
Author's Photos
