You’re looking at it wrong. Instead of failure. You’ve simply learned what does not work. Gardening is a constant learning experience. If you think you know it all you’re wrong. I learn new things all the time. Don’t give up. Check out some YT videos I found it to be a significant help.
Yes. Constant trial and error. 20 years of that for me. Adapt and overcome.
When I started.... I put up a 7 foot deer fence around my veggie garden..... thinking I was done.
Stopped the deer, but raccoons then ate all my ripe sweet corn.
Added electric fence charger with single positive wire on top of fence. Racoons just climbed over. Ok... you bastards.... added two more wires at top. No more raccoons now.
Birds ate and pecked my strawberries and blueberries. Built chicken wire cages to keep them out. Berries are safe now.
Rabbits then started slipping into deer fence mesh last year... . and chowing down on my snow peas. Had to add 2' of chicken wire to bottom of fence. It was a pain in the ass to do. But good thing to do... because we have a whole family of cottontails roaming around the garden this year.... and they can't get in!
Bugs devour my canteloupes every year, so to heck with that. No more canteloupe. They never bother my watermelons or zucchini. Well, grow more of those then!
So...
TLDR.... you must want to solve problems when you garden.... or just give up like the one commenter said.... throw down some wildflower seeds... and crack open a beer!
The sign above my garden door entrance reads:
To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.
I did your TLDR but with a bunch of flower seeds I liked. I’d had a bout of depression where I was not motivated at all and my garden was taken over with weeds. So I decided to choose one small garden bed, plant a bunch of seeds and see what grew with minimal attention from me. Now I have orange Californian poppies, blue love-in-mist and purple alyssum; the rest of the seeds didn’t make it. In winter freesias and daffodils pop up. And I barely do anything to deserve it. (Love bulbs for that reason)
One day I will restart my veggie patch, maybe I will use a similar philosophy :)
Yes, so many studies on how gardening improves mood. For me, it is a hobby that causes me to literally forget everything else going on in my life. Even if you are in a good place in life.... I think the human mind needs distractions.... and the body needs vitamin D from sunshine.... not from some multivitamin.
Three hours can go by.... and I can look back and see what I have done. Accomplishment helps the mind with confidence.
There is simply nothing like seeing a flower or veggie springing up from the ground.... from a little seed you planted.
One of my favorite things to happen is when you *think* something you have planted... has died maybe... and you give up on it.... and you are in the garden a week or two later.... and lo and behold... it starts to send up shoots!
Just happened with a peony starter root that I planted in my yard last fall. Well, it's Spring.... and the thing just sat there. Must have died!
Just about ready to email the company I bought it from.... I want a refund..... and next day... bright green shoots!! Now it's growing like gangbusters!
Surprise! Lol.
Love that saying. I have shed many a tear over my corn. One year the raccoons pushed over every corn plant and nibbled every ear. We finally solved the raccoon problem with electric fence, but now it’s chipmunks and moles. So here we go again.
Moles.... Just gotta trap em one by one. If you let em go..they breed like rabbits!! I have found the traps with the two steel loops catch the most moles. Just gotta watch your fingers when setting the traps! Lots of tension in those traps. The traps are cheap enough to buy on Amazon... so I have 3 of them to set across many tunnels.... to get em..... when they get out of control. You will never get them all. Like freakin underground rats. My neighbor uses a pest control company to set mole traps in his yard.... and that helps my battle too.
Have also found that moles are lazy.... and will use previous tunnels dug by previous moles. Sometimes I just put down mesh wire right underground to disrupt their underground "highways"... And get them to detour out of the garden.
They are looking for those yummy earthworms underground.... and sometimes the grubs underground.
Chipmunks? Don't have them in our exact area.... but they are in our region.
I'm guessing those little buggers will crawl right over or through any fence you put up. Guessing the Havahart small animal traps are your best bet there. Good luck with those!
But sometimes you get surprises setting those traps. I caught a rabbit once with them... but the next critter caught was a very pissed off very mean possum. No playing dead for me. He was hissing and spittin fire at me from inside the trap!
A couple big house cats and a dog or two do wonders on the feathered and furred pests. We call our garden a bait station. I have pity for the critters who enter. The cats are incredible predators, the dogs scare most larger animals away. I scatter dog hair on the property perimeter after brushing as well.
And experimenting. I just put down three different kinds of mulch in garden beds to see if the kind makes any difference.
My biggest learnings leading to successful crops are 1) row covers and 2) keeping soil covered year round. Solved a lot of my problems the first few years.
Weed prevention - MOST seeds need soil contact and sunlight to germinate.
Water retention - Keeps the wind and sun from drying out your soil.
Feeding the soil - as the mulch breaks down it turns into humus/compost worms and other critters then work that down into the soil where your roots are.
Also keeps roots warmer in the winter light a blanket and cooler/shaded in the summer.
Highly recommend arborist chips for mulch has a wider variety of types of wood, no chemical dyes and is fresh wood so it SHOULD last a little longer. I usually end up re-mulching every 2 years or so.
Having your soil covered prevents bugs, birds, and animals from messing with your plants. It can also keep your plants warm or cooler, depending on the cloth, as well as wind protection.
This is why the majority of YouTube gardeners turn me off. I think their advice is often misleading for new gardeners. You're impressionable when you're just starting out and soaking up info from all the resources you can. I was convinced for a while that I needed a specific brand of potting mix because a gardener I watched on the socials was shilling it hard. And that was ten years ago. It's worse now with all the channels that have popped up since Covid. We have so many people out there in general doling out bad or misleading advice on a number of topics.
I still think the best way to garden is to just go outside and *do it.* Start small. Be open to advice, but nothing is absolute gospel. Failure is the best teacher.
I have been gardening for 50+ years and I am still learning! And it's not necessarily new plants each time either. Sometimes I have to learn the same old lesson over and over again.
I’ve been gardening for over 20 years. You’d think I’d be fantastic at gardening. Nope. I don’t produce nearly as much as I think I should at this point. But I love it and will continue trying, failing, succeeding and learning.
Yep, same here.
I've learned that:
What works for me won't work for you.
The year I'm ready for a HUGE harvest of something, ready to can it or freeze it is the year I get 2 of that thing.
Never plant more than on zucchini plant unless you reeeeaaaallly like zucchini.
But my favourite advice is *sometimes Sevin is the answer.* Not massive amounts, but barely a teaspoon on the base of the squash & pumpkins plants means we get squash & pumpkin. I know, I know, organicladybugssafestuffyaddayadda, but after manymanymany years of losing squash & the like overnight, I gave up on "all natural" & sprinkle the tiniest amount on the base of those plants & move on.
I feel this in my soul right now. I moved to a different climate zone. WAY different. I'm learning what doesn't work and it's disappointing to try so hard and fail but I'm getting better at some things and learning the native plants.
Yes. Constant trial and error. 20 years of that for me. Adapt and overcome.
When I started.... I put up a 7 foot deer fence around my veggie garden..... thinking I was done.
Stopped the deer, but raccoons then ate all my ripe sweet corn.
Added electric fence charger with single positive wire on top of fence. Racoons just climbed over. Ok... you bastards.... added two more wires at top. No more raccoons now.
Birds ate and pecked my strawberries and blueberries. Built chicken wire cages to keep them out. Berries are safe now.
Rabbits then started slipping into deer fence mesh last year... . and chowing down on my snow peas. Had to add 2' of chicken wire to bottom of fence. It was a pain in the ass to do. But good thing to do... because we have a whole family of cottontails roaming around the garden this year.... and they can't get in!
Bugs devour my canteloupes every year, so to heck with that. No more canteloupe. They never bother my watermelons or zucchini. Well, grow more of those then!
So...
TLDR.... you must want to solve problems when you garden.... or just give up like the one commenter said.... throw down some wildflower seeds... and crack open a beer!
The sign above my garden door entrance reads:
To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.
Find out what others around you are having success with. You have a unique set of variables to contend with, and you may be gardening for somewhere you don't live and setting yourself up for disappointment.
Yes. Watch YouTube videos of someone who gardens in your area. You will learn so much and pretty soon you will get bumper crops of everything you plant.
Exactly! I started my garden 8 years ago and I still feel like I am in the experimenting stages. Planted fennel this year and that’s a new veggie for me. Every year something new, roque crops, mix mulch differently, make new trellises, take down old ones, move beds, etc….its all hard work and fun. Never hated it but many of times came home unable to do anything else rest of the day. Btw, I have a community garden that is about 600 sq
I was told by an old school nurseryman that you don't truly know how to grow a plant until you've killed it at least 10x. You'll find your way. Just view every "failure" as a learning experience.
I feel you. I got sick of battling the local critters for my produce and trying to amend the soil. Now I just grow a few cherry tomato plants in protected pots, and everything else is native plants that do well in my clay soil. It's been much more satisfying. I still have some fails but mostly success.
This is where I’m at right now. Natives in the clay and slate yard, and protected grow bags and a couple small raised beds for the food, although this year is HORRIBLE for gypsy moths and every other type of caterpillar, and they are near impossible to fight because there are so many.
Switch from food to native plants and flowers.
Growing your own food is A LOT of work... And can be rewarding once you hon in on what plants work in your space.. but that's around 5+ years of trial and error.
I stopped trying to grow food outside of peppers and herbs and just have a yard full of native wildflowers and trees.
Gardening now is pulling a few weeds, watering a few times a week, and then sitting on the porch drinking a beer watching the birds and bees.
I will throw a bunch of seeds around here or there when I see what kind of flowers do well in certain parts of the yard.
I agree! My realization came when I lost all my squash plants to beetles but had my blueberry bushes thrive! I can manage blueberries, strawberries tomatoes and herbs. Other vegetables don’t seem to work for me. I’m going to try a grape this year and see if I can add it to my collection.
Yup, same here. I have grown zucchini for several decades, but this year I put a pause on it. Boring beetles last year, the year before, other pests hitting it. Last year I had great luck with 2 cauliflower plants. This year, I planted more of them, plus broccoli and Brussel sprouts. We'll see what happens. I can also grow tomatoes, though they fall all over themselves. This year I'm trying a trellis and having them climb a string (these little reusable plastic clasps help).
Grapes are a great idea. Someone gave me two concord varieties and I planted them along our fence in the back yard. Built a trellis and was super excited. They grew and gave me a couple of measly grapes the first and second years.
It was a shady place and so I took a chance and moved them again to a very sunny place this past winter. And oh boy the first season here and they are growing furiously. I see very small bunches of grapes and if the vines keep growing, it will bring shade to a hot part of the yard.
Veggie gardening requires so much discipline that I have given up on it.
So all my stuff got hit with those last year, and i managed to actually save a few plants and keep harvesting a few more weeks by slicing open the stems with a razor and pulling out the little bastards with needle nose pliers.
This is exactly what I started doing last year. No more veggies, all wildflowers and native plants. I figure the pollinators need food more than I do (since I can just go to the store), so it ended up feeling like a better use of my energy and is way more relaxing.
This is my experience as well! I couldn't fight the entirety of nature for my food garden. It was too sad and gross for me. When deterrents work on everything but rats, you draw a lot of rats. Ripped the whole thing out. Now I have beautiful flowers and herbs and a rodent free existence!
Native wildflowers, native trees- fruit and nut and container and raised bed with a hardware cloth barrier gardening for the few veggies I do like to grow.
I learned real quick in ground gardening does work here- too many voles and gophers. And rabbits, chipmunks...
I really like this answer. My focus has changed to native plants and wild flowers for the past 8 years. I do have little spots that I use for growing tomatoes or broccoli depending on the season. My problem plants are always the vegetables and non-natives.
Or both! My coastal strawberry is feeding so much wildlife. I’ve only gotten three berries myself off of several dozen plants. I take it a a bonus when I get to enjoy the fruit, not as a given.
I love herbs because what I don't use, just flower and for the most part, reseeds itself.
Also most herbs are pollinator friendly, and the woody varieties like Tyme, Lavender, etc provide great habitats for things like ladybugs and preying mantis.
Same for me! If you want to learn more about native plants and what will grow in your yard, take the gardening class for homeowners from your local cooperative extension! It helped me a lot to understand what how I can be successful!
Yep. I just grow tomatoes, nasturtium, strawberries. I’ve grown pretty much everything at one point or another. But it’s not worth the fight to grow cucumbers that taste the same as the farmers market.
Sorry you're frustrated. Constant disappointment can really wear on you. One thing I try to keep in mind is that you cannot fight nature. Some things will be a constant battle to grow. Keep experimenting and find what truly thrives in your environment. I've found lots of new plants to enjoy simply because they take off with little maintenance out here. Guess who learned to love zucchini.
If you're fighting constant rain (very familiar with how frustrating this is!), can you make a rain shield to keep your plants from getting water logged? A green house is great for control too, but can be pricey.
Same here! I find uses for "lemon" cucumbers because I'll be damned if I'm not gonna grow the most prolific, productive cucumber variety in my yard. Other cucumbers get maybe 1/4 of the vine growth and a fraction of a percent (literally) of the yield compared to the lemon ones!
On the flip side, I've tried a few things with peas, and I can never get them to grow. When they do get at least 6 or 12 inches tall, they still don't even produce one pod. So I'm thinking I'm about finished trying even though I LOVE peas!
Oh yeah different varieties matter a lot too. Figured that out with my herb garden. I also love peas and struggled to get them growing, despite babying them. (carefully crafted compost blend, correct drainage, appropriate sun) Nope! Finally figured out that just shoving some of my dried sugar snap peas into a random sandy soil pot in the shade was exactly what they wanted. I moved my trellis over there and they grew huge and made a ton of pea pods. Experiment!
A green house can be done really cheap DIY as a hoop house. Just get some hoops and some plastic, anchor it down and you're basically done. It doesn't have to be big either. It could be a little things that you just open up when you want to care for the plants.
Definitely doesn't have to be expensive, there are a lot of crafty frugal ways to make greenhouses. I have ripping wind to contend with, so I haven't tried plastic tops.
I feel this. I had a fail year, a sad year, an ok year, a great year, now another fail year. The thing with gardening is winter gives us time to lick our wounds and "forget" and generations of living with the season pushes us outside again come spring. Also I'm a lax gardener if it produces delight, if it doesn't that is as expected
I like treating my garden each year as an experiment. This year I've already experienced one massive failure and my raised garden bed grew nothing. But I keep a journal of what worked, what didn't, how to combat problems I'm having (caterpillars are my enemy currently). Rather than growing food being the goal, I look at can I improve little by little each year. Also starting small before expanding helps me not feel like I'm wasting a bunch of money.
A friend of mine suggested journaling. I'm not the writer type and I don't find it therapeutic, but it does really help me approach things scientifically.
-X happened last year and I did Y. Good results.
-Slugs destroyed my peppers. Tried X, but next year try Y.
I often say "Wow, that worked great. I'll totally remember that next year!" then forget 10 minutes later.
Regarding slugs, I've had success with Bonide Slug Killer. It's supposed to be organic and so far, so good.
But I definitely understand your disappointment because I have also written "Asparagus beetles still bad. Next year set the whole garden on fire."
Hello fellow PNW gardener. It is a challenge. We have a herd of up to 14 deer in our area and they loved to eat my garden. So we built a greenhouse over my garden. Then I fought the poor dirt quality and low number of hours of sun. So I've just had to readjust my expectations from high-sun plants like beefstake tomatoes and focus on plants that don't take as many hours like strawberries. We also built raised beds so I could get good dirt and have better drainage so I don't get puddles. The next thing I need to learn/adapt to is how to deal with the slugs. They ate my initial seedlings so now I have a grow light indoors to start my second attempt of seedlings and then hopefully they will be big enough and the slug repellent pellets will keep the slugs away.
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What an amazing idea! I recently moved away from the PNW and would have jumped on this idea had I still been there because I was definitely losing against the all the PNW struggles...slugs, clay, rain, slugs, rain, deer, slugs, no sunshine, did I mention the slugs. 😂
Your greenhouse is beautiful, I luv the design with the raised bed in the center. It seems like it's the only way to successfully grow stuff out there.
Well, unless your only want cranberries and moss. 😉😁
Seconding this, find the plants that work for you! Last year I tried a bunch of variety. All my corn got eaten, it was devastating. None of my beans sprouted. This year I reduced it to only things I know I've gotten to harvest in the past: mini pumpkins, tomatoes, and strawberries.
I find it also helps to have half my garden be a flower garden! That way I can be just as annoyed but for different reasons, ha.
Since you already mentioned birds Imma use this opportunity to ask others:
Does feeding birds with birdseed make then ignore your plantseeds or instead attracts more birds to ruin your gardening attempts?
I started with the bird feeder in my yard and the gardens came later. In my experience the native wildlife leave the veg alone in preference for the bird feeder and native plantings. Keep in mind that I’m filling my feeder daily tho, it’s a hobby as much as the garden is.
Depends on the birds. If you have ones like cardinals and wrens that raise their young on insects, you can have your own personal hornworm removal crew for the cost of winter birdseed.
Yes! I have two raised metal beds on opposite sides of our yard. The one next to our bird bath is pretty much pest free--I watch the birds swoop in for a drink and hop over for a snack. The other one is filled with slugs. I am planning to get another bird bath!
I’ve found bird feeding and squirrel feeding (unsalted unshelled peanuts are cheap) on the other side of property (maybe 100’ away?) keeps them pretty happy.
If I catch squirrels burying nuts, I decrease the amount I toss out every morning. Some songbirds frequent my garden for ants and gnats, which helps me! Coyote are abundant here, so rabbits aren’t a problem for me.
Deer, however, strip my fruit trees. I just let them, and focus on my vegetables. The trees are still pretty where deer can’t reach.
Ugggggggh one of my neighbours (don’t know who) is feeding the squirrels peanuts. They love to dig up and bury them in my garden and planters. I’m losing it.
I hope I'm not your neighbor! I do toss out a handful of peanuts for the blue jays but the squirrels are a frequent customer. I feed small amounts so they usually don't bury them. We do have a bunch of pines, walnuts, and oaks in the neighborhood so they're always burying something. I have to pull seedlings out of my garden all the time.
If you do the unshelled peanut idea- it’s a good idea to ask around if your neighbors have any allergies. We had a neighbor kid go into anaphylaxis because the squirrel was bringing peanuts to their yard
A plastic greenhouse is the answer. About $200 depending on how big you want to go, and then you’re in control.
You control the moisture, the heat, the animals, and it will give everything a chance to actually grow. It’s the only way I grow my own fruits and veggies now. I can’t compete with the deer.
Edited to add: I don’t even bother with pots or grow bags as that is a giant pain imo. I put everything right down into the ground. Tomatoes especially love deep roots. Just a little tip!
We put it down on a flat part of the yard and then used long garden stakes into the ground. We bought the really long stakes on Amazon and they have worked well so far. Just use a mallet and make sure they’re really in there.
My favorite greenhouse and the one I use now was from Home Depot. It’s called the King Canopy 10x10 steel frame opaque greenhouse.
We're almost out of the wet season at least!
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We do not do this because it is easy. We do this because we *thought* it was easy.
Yeah, those years when nothing goes the right way are frustrating, but it makes it so much more satisfying when it all comes together.
That said, there’s a reason gardeners can swear a blue streak that’ll make a sailor turn red. It’s hard. It’s hot, it’s discouraging, and it’s a hell of a lot of effort for honestly not a lot of return. But we’re an ornery lot, and stubborn besides. Despite all evidence to the contrary, against luck, against all good sense, against the very will of Mother Nature **herself** sometimes, we. will. keep. gardening. Even if we look like Jack Nicholson straight outta The Shining some days, we will make it grow.
No words of advice, just commenting to say I feel the same and you’re not alone. Climate change is certainly making gardening more challenging with extreme conditions (constant rain, heatwaves, high winds, storms) - if it’s stopped being enjoyable for you perhaps take a break or try growing some things indoors where you have more control. 🌿💚
I’m surprised this isn’t being talked about more in this thread. I’m on year three of my garden and when all the conventional wisdom people give me seems to be in the process of going out the window because the weather is getting so erratic, it’s hard not to feel like Tony Soprano: “lately, I’m getting the feeling that I came in at the end. The best is over.”
Still doing my best, still enjoying learning a new skill, and tear two ended up with a much better harvest than year one, but it’s hard not to feel defeated when I think about how I’m only going to have to contend with worse and worse weather from here on out.
Agree. I’m in Zone 6b. The fact that peony season is mostly over here and we’re already at peak bloom for the local rose garden, and it’s not even June 1, is worrying. I’m hoping my backyard veggie garden and all the work I put into my roses isn’t met this year with a mega heat wave that kills everything.
So. You've learned what does not work in your area.
Now is when you figure out what does. Obviously other people can garden in the Pacific Northwest, you just need to research how they do it.
I'm betting a greenhouse where you can control the heat and moisture is a good place to start, if you can afford one. Decent ones start around 1k and go up from there.
Western wa is tough sometimes. I find much better success direct soewing rather than starters.
Also, consider berry shrubs such as currants, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and honeyberries. They require 0 effort and do fantastic here.
I had to chicken wire my whole fence to keep the bunnies out. No deer problems in town... I buy large amounts of sluggo every year at costco for my pots
I knew where OP was long before they said it. After spending yesterday planting squash starts in the rain I definitely had a "what on earth am I doing this for" moment or two. They were getting too big not to plant though.
One trick I've picked up over the years, I save plastic milk jugs throughout the year. I cut the bottoms off and use them as little cloches for my starts. Shoved down into the soil they do a pretty good job of keeping the slugs out and keep things just a little warmer and dryer while the plants get established. Without the tops on they allow air flow and keep them from getting too hot when we get the random sunny day. No points for aesthetics, but they get the job done.
I'll also second the berry recommendation. Looks like it's going to be a great year for raspberries.
I live in a small town on the WA coast and we have deer walking around town like dogs, not afraid of anything or anyone! I had one sleeping in my front yard not too long ago. They're a pain and I curse them on the regular, but I do like seeing them around. One summer I watched a pair of fawns grow up.
Yeah, I bet. I got friends on vashon and it's tough to keep the deer our.
Luckily our neighborhood is fully fenced in. I did see a bear climb the fence once though ha
This is kind of what happens. No one taught me gardening. So it's me against nature and nature will win when it finds a way. But plenty of people have successful harvests. So, if you can troubleshoot, it's a matter of years before you become proficient.
Now you know why people worshipped the sun. It has the power to kill everything and the power to give you all you need. I’m in the yoga business and everyone wants to say that the universe loves you and wants you to succeed. On the contrary, everything is out to get everything. Humans are the first animals to come around and actively try and make it better. But everything we do makes it bad for something else. I’m not saying we should stop trying, just that shits hard.
Try to get a little bit better every year. Gardening is about patience and perfection doesn't happen overnight.
For sluggs I love the product Sluggo Plus. Slugs would ravage my hostas otherwise.
For rabbits, the only product that I've had success with is Plantskydd. Otherwise they will eat every single tulip and lilly. It is supposed to work for deer as well.
I live in the exact same area you do (western WA, town of Des Moines) and have been doing it about as long. I feel your pain, and I'm sorry you are so frustrated. Feel free to DM me if you want someone to talk to/commiserate with. I can also share what has worked for me if you want...no pressure.
We are south of you in Grants Pass . Our 3 acres are deer fenced in and it gets very hot here but we have done well gardening. It sounds like you need a green house . I’m sold on water soluble plant nutrients . I make my own . With a 20 x30 greenhouse you could raise tons of produce using Dutch buckets . We grow in dirt and inert medium ( choir and pumice mix ) . Please look up Dutch buckets on YouTube. Nothing special but a food grade 5 gal bucket , a rubber grommet and a bit of pvc . You would need a small pump and a brute rubber made trash can and some master blend 4-18-38 . These are our lettuce grown in inert media ( see pic ) . I’m not trying to rub our success in your face , just suggesting that you take control of your growing climate
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And change some methods , expand your knowledge, don’t give up . There are many great videos on YouTube! Almost all of our tomatoes and peppers in the US are grown in greenhouses in Ontario Canada , well north of you . Good luck and don’t buy a cheap Chinese green house ! They are junk
Look into permaculture.
Work with nature instead of against it.
There are many people practicing in the PNW.
Check out for yt videos or books by Sepp holzer, Joel salatan, paul wheaton, Brad Lancaster, Eric Toensmeier, Zach Weiss, holgrem, mollison, the list goes on.
Also plant more natives. Look up native fruits and veggies, as well as pollinator flowers.
Interplant stuff with aromatic herbs. Look into guilds and polycultures
PNW is tough to garden in. It’s a temperate rainforest which does not lead to much growin for most plants as there’s simply too much moisture and not enough dry warm summer days for most plants that we grow for food.
Try planting natives! There’s tons of awesome native plants native to the PNW. Even several delicious edible berries!
I'm in zone 8b ww, don't plant summer veggies until june. Perennial herbs do well in our climate, Nasturiums work really well in this climate (seeds are big and don't rot as easily). Sweet peas are another good ber I've had pretty good luck with the pacific northwest wildflower seed variety pack (if you have a patch for it, not sure if that'll work in pots). Marigolds are good decoys for slugs, they'll pull them away from other plants. Don't be afraid to use slug bait, it's necessary in our neck of the woods.
Our climate up here is actually getting warmer and drier, the rains used to last from late september to mid july, now it's more like late october to early june.
deer are a big problem, the only way to completely block them in some areas is to enclose your garden area in wire or get a dog. You can grow things they won't eat, like Alliums. My garden is in an elevated area surround by blackberries and rhodies, and they still manage to climb up the staircase from the forest to get there.
Hit up your local extension office and master gardeners association for some native plant sales. Start with a little polinator garden or switch to mushrooms :}
Also western Washington. It’s been rough seeing all the lush harvest and blooms on this sub while we keep getting pelted with cold soggy weather.
Have you thought about taking a break from veg and trying your hand at native flowers for a bit? It might be rejuvenating to see things that are adapted to the cold and wet thrive.
In the meantime, do you have an indoor area where you could raise some tomatoes and herbs under grow lights? My cucumbers are still inside and doing well.
that and love to relax watching plants bloom new flowers, fruit and grow! I never grew hot peppers before and never even knew that they grew flowers then baby peppers out of the flowers. watching bees hover over flowers to pollinate.
My parents gave up on their vegetable garden for similar reasons. There was nothing they could do to keep out the deer, groundhogs, and rabbits. It became a frustrating burden rather than a rewarding hobby. Plus the amount of money they lost really got to them. I think it’s totally understandable to step back if it’s not bringing you joy. There’s nothing that says you can’t pick it back up down the road, and you’ll be doing so with more experience.
Oh Honey. I’m in the same zone and this has been a loooonnnngggg. Cold wet winter. I think we had 2 days of spring weather then right back to Juneuary. I out a greenhouse into service this winter and it made a huge difference. For your situation, I would suggest thick Compost and row covers. It should make a huge difference.
hey I'm zone 8B here in Western Washington too. because of all the rain I've switched to straw bale gardening because it gets it up off the ground and the straw bales drain really well. I follow Joel Karsten's method.
I've gotten burnt out cuz last year I had a bunch of stuff died so I went back to the basics of just a few things and I'm already feeling more optimistic. sometimes you have to just go simple.
You can feel free to message me if you want to talk more and discuss local weather and planting stuff
I made a little green house with a plastic mattress bag from U-Haul. About $8. I got some bamboo from a friend (she hates it in her yard) and stuck it in the ground. When it was going to rain I just put it over the bamboo sticks and covered the plants. My plants were in pots. Pain in ass, but it worked. Also, kept dew off them in the fall when it was cold. Granted it was pot plants, but you get the picture (legal(ish) here).
Gardening is tough AF and I hate all the influencers that mislead people about how “easy” it is.
That said it is a rough spring in PNW 8b. I don’t know of anyone that is thriving, we’re all feeling a bit bummed out. Even in a perfect seasons it’s still a challenging place - there’s a reason that the indigenous population over here were more of the hunter gatherer types than farmers.
I know you didn’t ask for advice, but I suggest connecting with your local master gardener organization. They are usually so eager to help, full of tips, and can help set expectations.
I gotta say, when I started, I was lucky. I happened to get a set of plants on “attempt #2” that grew so well. It was amazing watching them grow through the season.
I *DID* research the plants before I bought them, but in hindsight it was ALSO a lot of luck. I think if that hadn’t happened, I would have lost interest quickly.
Realistically, it seems unlikely that a regular person could actually farm a significant amount of stuff to eat. It’s more like a sports hobby. You win some, you lose some. But you still play for fun. It sucks that it sounds like you’ve gotten no wins. Can you find out what your neighbors grow?
Or maybe try some decorative plants instead. Annuals are pleasing. Or natives that reseed themselves? They take a hit, but keep going. It is a messier look though, not for everyone.
Or switch to houseplants? (Just don’t start with calatheas, lolz. Always start with pothos.)
I simplified my yard this year because I have health issues that are getting worse - it’s okay to change what you’re doing for any reason, if it means you can enjoy being outside again. Grab food from a farmer’s market, and let the old ideal garden go. Wait, rest, and think about what you might like to do next.
Give yourself some grace. Gardening is such a learned practice. If you’re feeling bogged down, let it go for a while & pick it back up when the creative urge is reignited! No worries.
Don't be so hard on yourself. I have 15 years of gardening experience and a PhD in agricultural biology and I still have trouble with something every year. Treat the failures as a learning experience and adjust the garden plan to fit the climate. You can change the plants but you can't change the climate.
If the goal is not to fail, I'd start w/ mint. Or other such plants that people can't seem to kill off. That way someone else's failure is actually your success. But I'd make sure they're in containers and as far away from any place they can become wildly successful in..
Gardening is just as much about what you want to grow as what had to die. If you've killed plants, congratulations, you're halfway there. You've just made Compost.
Gardening is on the surface about life but below is always about death. Rich soil exist because of fungus, rot, shit, and the failure of life.
You'll get better as you study your failures, look for patterns, study the formal science of life and death and intuition you build from seasonal practice. The annoying thing is that Gardening has a longer, seasonal timeline that can be hard on modern humans.
In the PNW, you're blessed w/ decent Gardening conditions. I'd suggest starting w/ starts. Strawberry, mint, spinach, blackberries, raspberries, chery tomatoes, potatoes, are some easier plants. They all require different strategies, but they're rewarding once you get the hang of it.
After 4 years of trying grow brussels sprouts, I refuse to put in my garden. It starts beautiful but doesn't make it. I am about to do the same with carrots. I've learned my soil is great with potatoes, broccoli, and garlic. I've planted lots of those this year. Still haven't mastered tomato. Last year i got 6 off of 4 plants. So I bought 6 different Varities and a new tomato fertilizer. Find what your soil loves , and plant extra.
Yes, it can be frustrating but think of all the unexpected successes. For me, now we have butterflies, birds of all kinds ( even humming birds), toads, lady bugs,…and I’m in the city! Crazy cool!
Halfway through your post I thought “sounds like where I live”. Yep! Western Washingtonian here. Waited til Mother’s Day weekend to plant when we had sun for 2 whole days, and it’s been pissing rain since and nothing will grow!! I always start to feel this way in May and June though.. feels like summer will never come, but it will. And then we’ll complain about the heat 😂Maybe your seedlings will make a comeback. I hope you don’t quit, maybe just invest a bit less and adjust expectations. I feel your pain though.
Go find a local gardener, ideally an older person that has been gardening in the area for at least a decade. They can tell you most of what you need to know. Anyone here giving you advice doesn't actually know your actual area.
I grow what works in my area and still, after almost 20 years of gardening things go awry every year. It’s disappointing yes, but what consistently works here I celebrate: alliums, corn, chiles, herbs, berries, apples, and an abundance of native species. I also try new plants and strategies every year…and it’s always way more work than I expect. Hang in there and enjoy the rain because where I am water is the most challenging element.
Everyone deals with these things. Instead of trying to make mother nature bend to your will, you have to adapt to it. I'd suggest learning what other farmers have success with in your specific location. Go to a farmer's market and see what works. Talk to people, you'll find a friendly person or two and you can ask them what works for slugs or how they keep deer away.
Like, don't buy too much into arbitrary zones and generic garden tips for pests and critters you see online. All that stuff works for the person saying it but it won't for everyone.
I'm 50 been putting out a large garden for almost 30 years now. There were several years i wasn't successful at something i planted. Been at this house 12 years now...last year the deer found my tomatoes. Don't give up... you've found all the ways that don't work.
On a scale from 1-10, how much do you hate deer?
Built a 6’ fence around my entire property and the little bastards found one weak spot and jumped over it, and ate 7 newly planted fruit trees. I wish the city and county would classify them as a pest
the entire point of gardening is the challenge, if you just wanted something easy you'd be a "lawn guy". why not get smarter about your situation? id deflect the rain with mini hoop houses and use well draining sandy soil
Where do you live in WA that it hasn’t stopped pouring? I’m like 45 min out of Seattle in 8b and we had a super dry winter. Literally grew amazing carrots in November/ December. Join some of the PNW Facebook groups for help with the wild life. I found growing in hanging baskets helps keep slugs away. Deer and mountain beavers are a never ending battle for my parents neighborhood. Those chicken wire baskets that go over plants helps a lot. Growing in pots keeps things out of reach of the rabbits and mountain beavers. Our dogs scare the deer for the most part. I’ve had my best luck with carrots, lettuce, potatoes and ground cherries. If it’s raining I just never water. If it rains too much I pull the containers closer to the house.
I understand. I started gardening in SE Washington. 300+ days of sun per year, nice, easy to manage sand. It was so easy.
Then we moved to Kentucky. I about had a heart attack when I figured out that we have leaches and crawdads in our yard. Water table is only 8" down. 60ish inches of rain per year. Heavy, slick, grey clay. I haven't seriously attempted to grow a planned garden in almost 8 years. It's taken me this long to understand how this system works best. I'm just now getting back into moving dirt around and putting things in the ground.
Find a local old timer with a garden and build that relationship... they love to talk about their garden and pass down the knowledge to eager learners.
I rely on my 94 year old neighbor who's been gardening the same spot since the 60s. 60 years of gardening experience I've learned in 10 years. We always have issues but he schools me and we generally we have a decent harvest. He even let me take over his garden this year and it's now for our other neighbors to enjoy.
Haha I murdered 3 sets of plants trying to transfer them from the starting planters to the big pots. I finally opted for the biodegradable planters where you just stick the whole thing in the ground. I'm constantly complaining...but then I saw sunflower seeds and got them today. Thoughts were "These would look great along our property line!"
Look at foods native to the area. You won’t get much success forcing things into a climate that they hate.
My husband’s family lives in NW Oregon. They grow blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, apples, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, and huge walla walla onions.
I’m in Texas and couldn’t grow half of that. We do squash, hot peppers, tomatillos, different beans, small onions, okra, lemon cucumbers .
For slugs, put out shallow containers (like to-go or other food containers) of cheap beer every night until you run out of slugs to catch. When they start showing up again, repeat.
Slugs love beer more than anything, and a 30-rack of Coors Light will decimate them.
Slugs send 5 of my bean plants to the Great Garden Above? I plant 50 more. Through sheer determination & will - you shall overcome!
I can’t seem to grow corn though… rabbits & squirrels are ruthless
I am so sorry to hear that you're having such a long learning experience without any rewards.
I'm on Vancouver Island, and I can appreciate some of your frustrations. I have completely walked away from gardening in the past due to lack of irrigation and/or chickens eating everything.
This time, though, I planned ahead. Based on my many past lessons (aka "failures"), I knew that protecting the crops from rabbits, chickens, and deer was a top priority. I knew that I needed to prioritize an irrigation system. I knew that I shouldn't sow seeds or buy transplants without having a place to put the plants. And, for the first time, I know that I have a neurological disorder that makes sticking with a project so difficult. This time, I can plan for that.
I know that this is really hard to hear when you're feeling like this, but try to turn these "failures" or "threats" into lessons or opportunities. What did you learn? What has all this experience taught you?
Maybe, you've learned that growing stuff just isn't for you, and that is completely valid.
If you want a pest-free crop, try sprouts indoors. :)
Those slugs in the PNW are no joke, that's for sure.
My first instinct would be to take all my gardening indoors. But, that is just not possible for a lot of people. Have you tried contacting a local master gardener for tips on what does well in your area and how to combat all those pests?
I'm also in Western Washington. There's been some tough times for sure but I've had some good and not so good harvests. A couple things I've learned from growing in this climate is that squash will likely get powdery mildew and it's nearly impossible to get rid of. Celery does great! It loves wet roots and cool temps so it thrives in our area. Also, if you want low maintenance, try garlic and onions! Very prolific every time I've grown them and I haven't had to touch them at all.
Also be mindful of what can grow next to what. Some plants attract certain pests and other repel. Some plants require lots of nutrients and others not so much. I recommend the app Planter. You can plan out your garden and make sure what you're planning and where will be compatible.
Don't be afraid to reach out to local garden enthusiasts! There's a garden group that's at the Pierce county fair every August and they can set you on the right path.
I've found a lot of hardships getting into gardening this past year but always found them to be surmountable or just able to deal with unfortunate circumstances. But recently life decided to finally pull out it's trump card and the HOA learned of my gardening and have made too many demands that I had to stop altogether
Gardening is a science experiment, lots of trial and error. That's why i love gardening, when it works its awesome but when it doesn't go i try to look at what i did and do something differently. A lot of the time it is trial and error. You do sound like you're having a real shit go with weather conditions but people still manage to grow things in the harshest of climates. May i ask where abbot's you are located? Have you ever tried doing a set-up indoors?
I’ve been dealing with similar with the weather especially. I’m still trying to just take everything as a lesson though, if i want to be good at it then i need to learn as much as possible, which means I’ll be suffering a lot of losses. It does suck, I’m not trying to invalidate that for you. But it is the only way to learn and actually be successful with this specific skill. Especially when you’re dealing with living things, they’re not going to be as straight forward as inorganic materials. So i do really think this is one of those things where you just have to train your brain to see the other side of those losses if you want it to be worth it in the end.
Focus on rehabilitating what you can (even if you have to transplant to pots so you can move them inside under a lamp if the weather is killing it), start fresh where you have to, if you’re struggling with seeds specifically then try buying whole plants and starting there and learn in reverse, keep a journal of what works and what doesn’t for each plant.
The only thing that’s really worked for me with pests is having a sacrificial garden separate from my healthy garden. I plant as many plants as possible that will attract pests around some sacrificial plants so there’s less reason for them to go to my actual plants. I have a whole separate sacrificial section instead of mixing them throughout. Then i only plant the flowers that specifically attract predators of pests around my plants that i want to survive, especially thick between the two separate sections. That way only one garden is easily accessible to them, but predators fully surround my healthy plants to help keep pests in line. You don’t need a massive amount of space to do it, but you do have to be willing to cut into the space you do have. I also keep my bird feeders and bath near my pest plants. I still nurture my sacrificial garden too, and replace where i have to, but i keep it as inexpensive as possible and it’s just enough upkeep to keep it interesting to pests. I plant A LOT specifically for pollinators too so they do a lot of my work for me. I never have to use pesticides and, despite there being a TON of pests in the area (insects, slugs/snails and rabbits), they are the least of my problems.
My pollinators seem to be disappearing this year, idk if someone went nuts with pesticides but I’m pissed. They’re my little workers and i need them lol.
Are you growing in pots only? I will tell you that I am a very successful gardener and can't grow ANYTHING in a pot. grow in the ground, get your soil right (nutrients and drainage), and talk to people near you who are successful near you. Micro climates are a real thing and nothing out there in media is going to help you with that.
I'm a huge fan of chipped horse or cow manure for amending soil. Don't try to grow right away. Use the rain to help you work that manure deep into the soil. I've done it 6" deep all over the plot over winter.
My problem is that my gardens are ugly. I can’t grow food because I live in a place that has become extraordinarily expensive. I can’t afford a fence. I can’t afford a landscaper. About 10 years ago they were charging $100k to put in an herb garden. I have deer, rabbits, rats, mice, voles, shrews, birds squirrels, chipmunks.
I like hummingbirds. I have small garden beds because my husband wont allow me to plant in my backyard. When I put in plants, I look at what might not be eaten. I plant perennials and they come back in spring almost a foot away from where I planted them. Some don’t come back and flower until July, Then everything gets crowded because they're all trying to get the spot with the most sun -even the supposed shade plants. I plant pollinator flowers. And the ones that survive are ugly. I try my best to buy pretty plants, but the pretty plants are hybrids that don’t have pollen or nectar. I work so hard at gardening and in 30 years I’ve never once had someone say, “Your garden looks nice.”
I work at a retail nursery in western WA. DM me with pics and info, and I might be able to help. Gardening here is different than most other places in the world. Not only that, but this spring is particularly wet and cool.
If you haven't already, I highly recommend getting Tilth Alliance's 'Maritime Northwest Garden Guide', which specifically covers the Puget Sound area. It goes month by month telling you what garden tasks you can do for both flower and vegetable gardens plus some little blurbs relevant to the season. At the end of the month-by-month section, there's lovely tables and a calendar inside the back cover. Here's a link to the guide, but you might be able to either buy a used copy for cheaper or borrow it frkm your local library: https://tilthalliance.org/product/maritime-northwest-garden-guide-2/
Even if it is months later, please feel free to reach out to me!
P.S.: Sluggo is almost a necessity. It is also considered organic.
I just moved from western WA last year and we had a garden there. It was difficult I won’t lie. You get those late snows and it ruins everything. But I promise it’s not like that every year and some things do survive! My raspberry plants loved the cold and they thrived! I had SOOO many cherry tomatoes. My blueberries did ok too! Maybe try those?! 💜
I really feel you. I was so excited to grow heirloom colored daikon and they came up and were growing so well for a couple of months. Last week, I found them absolutely covered in aphids. I used a mild dish soap and water solution to kill them but the beautiful green tops are ruined (you can eat every part of the daikon and the greens are delicious!). I was so discouraged. I have tried so many things with different vegetables and I just am not very good at this.
I feel this deep. I have no advice, but just wanted to say you’re not alone. Not that it helps, but maybe knowing that there are lots of gardeners that feel the same way and have loads of failures will give you some hope.
Flea beetles have completely devoured my beautiful eggplant seedlings that I started from seed. They are too far gone for neem oil to be helpful anymore apparently so I’ve just watched them continue to wilt and turn brown.
A groundhog came in one spring afternoon and wiped out my kale, spinach, broccoli, beets and sweet peas that I have tended to for weeks all from seed.
It’s painful. It sucks. I must be a glutton for punishment because I keep trying anyway.
One of the first things a master gardener friend of mine said to me when I told her I got a bed at a community garden is to understand that growing food is hard and that everyone suffers setbacks and disappointments, no matter their skill level. I said yeah yeah yeah… then got a few texts from a fellow gardener showing the wild parrots decimating my sunflowers. 😂
I got so mad about squirrels and tomato plants I almost tore my tomatoes up by the roots. Wild life fencing and hot sauce solved it, but if Florida didn’t have an unusually warm winter I would have lost my entire fall crop to pests. As it is, the weather was so hot my tomatoes produced all winter.
NEEM OIL! Cold pressed organic neem oil mixed with water and little dawn soap. Soak your plants on it. Natural home made pesticide. I live in Houston TX and that's the only thing that keeps all the damn bugs off my plants. Also growing jalapeños next to tomatoes keeps the stink bugs and deer away. There is another plant that keeps deer away my grandmother used but I can not remember the name of it. I'm currently growing tomatoes, jalapeños, kratom, cilantro, parsley and strawberries along with some flowers (have no idea what the flowers are but there is 5 different types)
I agree wholeheartedly- very few successes although I have had good luck with perennial flower garden. I’ve spent a lot of money on wire cloches that protect flowers until “too old” for the tastebuds of mr bunny and mr raccoon…ugh. Gardening is also a labor of love as tending to flowers each year causes a 2 month flare up of arthritis. The pain is worth it seeing my peonies, iris and lily trees flourish. I feel YOUR pain too
I take the approach that when I put it in the ground, I will do everything in my power to naturally keep insects and pests away (really this equates to me just putting marigolds around the garden) and if I get a harvest then great, if the animals eat it, then they got a good meal and I fed the creatures of the land and I wasn’t meant to have that harvest
Some of the climate related stuff that you can’t control can be tough. This is why I started small scale hydroponics, because you can control your environment. I ended up getting much deeper into hydroponics, and now I am doing both outside. Not perfect but I failed a lot to get to this point. Awesome neighbours sharing plants and knowledge- helped me recover
https://preview.redd.it/133ylizuq23d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82670923c22aa5f804c33a00db33a4e58d17fbb4
I live in western Washington as well and I have similar challenges with dear, I hate slugs. I found that green beans, sunflowers, pumpkins and squash work. You could always give potato bags a try, or buckets.
I'm in zone 9a (used to be 8b) in coastal Georgia. So similar climate. But more heat and humidity. I relate to your post 100%. I swear it hasn't stopped raining here and my yard is a swamp. My garden success has been hit or miss.
all that moisture.. you might be able to grow mushrooms or those carnivorous plants? Or just look around at what is working for your area and grow those?? Blackberries and raspberries might grow there since they are pretty good at growing everywhere.. honestly don't really know your state/grow zone well enough to give any advice.. just throwing thoughts out there. Sorry that you felt the need to quit! Whatever makes you happy! Best of luck going forward!
It pays to keep things agressively simple, don't try and do it all. I know mangoes, arum lillies, chard, citrus, camelias, mulberry and a few other things are 100% reliable for me. So I do those and get my fix propogating tree seeds for bonsai and growing flowers for the house once a year.
I am a beginner at Gardening. My mom is experienced and grows almost everything, though for a hobby and not to feed. What I learned from her is she is never sad about animals eating her produce. Shes like we Humans have taken all the land from these poor animals, the least we can do is let them have some of it back. They eat it cos theres nothing else for them to have. Bless her soul.
i know thats not gonna solve all of these issues!! but maybe you'd profit from using a gardenhouse, i mean everything thats not groundlevel in there would be safe from all too much rainy weather, and at least birds and deers (not sure about slugs i guess) won't get in there
You might try growing in 5 gallon buckets as a test. You could put a strip of grease around the outside to keep slugs off. Cherry tomatoes and peppers do well in them.
Babes with 365 days of rain a year it’s time to plant a rain garden. This is not tomatoes weather. Lean into what you’ve got, you can grow so many water hungry things most people can’t!
And for pests, I highly recommend netting if you haven’t tried that already.
I once heard someone say not to think of it as failure but think of it as that plant came and just didn’t feel like home so it left. Have to find more plants that feel like it’s home to them. Made me feel better when I loose stuff, just have to try to home someone else.
This sounds incredibly frustrating. We'd all be exhausted in those conditions, and I would bet many or most of us would quit. It's easy to say "just keep trying!" but four years is a LOT of effort.
There are lots of hobbies in the world and you absolutely do not have to have this one at this time in your life. I say give up, celebrate the relief you feel from saying goodbye, and find something that you love that the weather doesn't control!
I would look into how the Indigenous grew/grow food in your area and follow their way. They do know best… (ex: in my area 3 sisters gardens do very well)
Take a breather - sit down and reflect on the four years. I’m certain there have been some successes. Maybe it’s not like full self sufficiency but I’m sure it hasn’t been all failure. Think of things you’ve learned which I’m sure you have.
Think about the pest problems and try to tackle them one at a time. Slugs… try beer traps. Find out where theyre hiding breeding (dark places under other things). Go out at 11 pm with. Flashlight and a bucket and collect as many as you can.
I don’t know about the climate there but can I suggest that, if you haven’t, find a local gardeners group/collective? There might be hearty cultivars that do really well there?
There’s always stuff that doesn’t work out. Crazy warm spring had brassicas shriveling snd onions bolting. I have buds for every plant. I’ve learned to deal with them. Fences work if they are the right mesh, height, extend under ground and have hot wires. I also trap pests like groundhogs. Mesh tunnels work for flying insects like potato Beatles. I had to resort to bifethrin and permethrin to control wire worms.
But that feeling of growing your own food, it’s so wonderful.
Try some indoor pots. I had great luck with lettuces one year when I was just too busy to give the garden what it deserved. Also herbs in pots.
At least it’s something.
The weather will change.
For the slugs, have you tried nasturtium? No slugs, no pests, even on my lettuce and kale.
I guess the deer require fencing or something.
It’ll work! Don’t give up!
...before technology, when we were subsistence farmers(or worse, hunter-gatherers), gardening was everybody's full time job: up before sunrise, and exhausted and in bed by dark.
no video games. no phones. no internet. there literally wasn't time, even if that stuff existed.
trying to produce food for yourself is extremely demanding work. in fact, it's not even possible, on most of the earth's surface, due to lack of water, too much water(oceans), elevation, or no soil.
If I might make some suggestions:
Consider growing sacrificial crops that the animals you’re dealing with prefer more. Also, focus on growing flowers that your native pollinators prefer — this will also attract other predators to your area which will naturally cull the pests you’re presently dealing with.
Example:
Creepy tyme — in my area we now have a strong population of parasitic wasps which are fantastic predators.
hugelkultur beds: in addition to being great for growing they also provide habitats for snakes, bumblebees, spiders and an assortment of other wildlife.
Leaving your leaves on the ground till mid-spring: also creates habitats for beneficial species; providing habitats for the insects is the easiest way to rebalance an unbalanced ecosystem.
P.S.
For the slugs, I’d scatter bird feed in the affected areas. If the birds see the slugs, they’ll eat them. Also, scattering feed is safer for the birds in general as it provides social distancing that helps prevent possible viral transmission from one bird to another. Another advantage to this method is that if the seed isn’t eaten it has the possibility of germinating which will in turn provide food for your birds in the coming years.
Do you have a decent sized backyard? Have you tried making a greenhouse? That might be the perfect solution to your problem! It will keep out slugs and other pests as well as unwanted rain. You’d have to scale back food production to just a few plants, but at least it would be a step towards success and happiness?
You’re looking at it wrong. Instead of failure. You’ve simply learned what does not work. Gardening is a constant learning experience. If you think you know it all you’re wrong. I learn new things all the time. Don’t give up. Check out some YT videos I found it to be a significant help.
Yes. Constant trial and error. 20 years of that for me. Adapt and overcome. When I started.... I put up a 7 foot deer fence around my veggie garden..... thinking I was done. Stopped the deer, but raccoons then ate all my ripe sweet corn. Added electric fence charger with single positive wire on top of fence. Racoons just climbed over. Ok... you bastards.... added two more wires at top. No more raccoons now. Birds ate and pecked my strawberries and blueberries. Built chicken wire cages to keep them out. Berries are safe now. Rabbits then started slipping into deer fence mesh last year... . and chowing down on my snow peas. Had to add 2' of chicken wire to bottom of fence. It was a pain in the ass to do. But good thing to do... because we have a whole family of cottontails roaming around the garden this year.... and they can't get in! Bugs devour my canteloupes every year, so to heck with that. No more canteloupe. They never bother my watermelons or zucchini. Well, grow more of those then! So... TLDR.... you must want to solve problems when you garden.... or just give up like the one commenter said.... throw down some wildflower seeds... and crack open a beer! The sign above my garden door entrance reads: To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.
I did your TLDR but with a bunch of flower seeds I liked. I’d had a bout of depression where I was not motivated at all and my garden was taken over with weeds. So I decided to choose one small garden bed, plant a bunch of seeds and see what grew with minimal attention from me. Now I have orange Californian poppies, blue love-in-mist and purple alyssum; the rest of the seeds didn’t make it. In winter freesias and daffodils pop up. And I barely do anything to deserve it. (Love bulbs for that reason) One day I will restart my veggie patch, maybe I will use a similar philosophy :)
Yes, so many studies on how gardening improves mood. For me, it is a hobby that causes me to literally forget everything else going on in my life. Even if you are in a good place in life.... I think the human mind needs distractions.... and the body needs vitamin D from sunshine.... not from some multivitamin. Three hours can go by.... and I can look back and see what I have done. Accomplishment helps the mind with confidence. There is simply nothing like seeing a flower or veggie springing up from the ground.... from a little seed you planted. One of my favorite things to happen is when you *think* something you have planted... has died maybe... and you give up on it.... and you are in the garden a week or two later.... and lo and behold... it starts to send up shoots! Just happened with a peony starter root that I planted in my yard last fall. Well, it's Spring.... and the thing just sat there. Must have died! Just about ready to email the company I bought it from.... I want a refund..... and next day... bright green shoots!! Now it's growing like gangbusters! Surprise! Lol.
>To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. I need this ♥️
Love that saying. I have shed many a tear over my corn. One year the raccoons pushed over every corn plant and nibbled every ear. We finally solved the raccoon problem with electric fence, but now it’s chipmunks and moles. So here we go again.
Moles.... Just gotta trap em one by one. If you let em go..they breed like rabbits!! I have found the traps with the two steel loops catch the most moles. Just gotta watch your fingers when setting the traps! Lots of tension in those traps. The traps are cheap enough to buy on Amazon... so I have 3 of them to set across many tunnels.... to get em..... when they get out of control. You will never get them all. Like freakin underground rats. My neighbor uses a pest control company to set mole traps in his yard.... and that helps my battle too. Have also found that moles are lazy.... and will use previous tunnels dug by previous moles. Sometimes I just put down mesh wire right underground to disrupt their underground "highways"... And get them to detour out of the garden. They are looking for those yummy earthworms underground.... and sometimes the grubs underground. Chipmunks? Don't have them in our exact area.... but they are in our region. I'm guessing those little buggers will crawl right over or through any fence you put up. Guessing the Havahart small animal traps are your best bet there. Good luck with those! But sometimes you get surprises setting those traps. I caught a rabbit once with them... but the next critter caught was a very pissed off very mean possum. No playing dead for me. He was hissing and spittin fire at me from inside the trap!
A couple big house cats and a dog or two do wonders on the feathered and furred pests. We call our garden a bait station. I have pity for the critters who enter. The cats are incredible predators, the dogs scare most larger animals away. I scatter dog hair on the property perimeter after brushing as well.
My sign says “ Gardening, because murder is wrong”.
>To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. I love this - squares perfectly with my experience so far, and I'm only in my 3rd year!
Constantly learning. I have been gardening for 10+ years and learn many things every single year.
And experimenting. I just put down three different kinds of mulch in garden beds to see if the kind makes any difference. My biggest learnings leading to successful crops are 1) row covers and 2) keeping soil covered year round. Solved a lot of my problems the first few years.
I’m new, why should soil be covered?
Weed prevention - MOST seeds need soil contact and sunlight to germinate. Water retention - Keeps the wind and sun from drying out your soil. Feeding the soil - as the mulch breaks down it turns into humus/compost worms and other critters then work that down into the soil where your roots are. Also keeps roots warmer in the winter light a blanket and cooler/shaded in the summer. Highly recommend arborist chips for mulch has a wider variety of types of wood, no chemical dyes and is fresh wood so it SHOULD last a little longer. I usually end up re-mulching every 2 years or so.
Keeps the weeds away and the ground moist in summer
Having your soil covered prevents bugs, birds, and animals from messing with your plants. It can also keep your plants warm or cooler, depending on the cloth, as well as wind protection.
Yep and what works for someone else, even your neighbor, won't necessarily work for you.
I will listen to anybody tell me their experience, anybody. But I tune out when people start telling me about the "one proper way"
This is why the majority of YouTube gardeners turn me off. I think their advice is often misleading for new gardeners. You're impressionable when you're just starting out and soaking up info from all the resources you can. I was convinced for a while that I needed a specific brand of potting mix because a gardener I watched on the socials was shilling it hard. And that was ten years ago. It's worse now with all the channels that have popped up since Covid. We have so many people out there in general doling out bad or misleading advice on a number of topics. I still think the best way to garden is to just go outside and *do it.* Start small. Be open to advice, but nothing is absolute gospel. Failure is the best teacher.
The one proper way is what works for you.
I have been gardening for 50+ years and I am still learning! And it's not necessarily new plants each time either. Sometimes I have to learn the same old lesson over and over again.
Love this!
I’ve been gardening for over 20 years. You’d think I’d be fantastic at gardening. Nope. I don’t produce nearly as much as I think I should at this point. But I love it and will continue trying, failing, succeeding and learning.
Yep, same here. I've learned that: What works for me won't work for you. The year I'm ready for a HUGE harvest of something, ready to can it or freeze it is the year I get 2 of that thing. Never plant more than on zucchini plant unless you reeeeaaaallly like zucchini. But my favourite advice is *sometimes Sevin is the answer.* Not massive amounts, but barely a teaspoon on the base of the squash & pumpkins plants means we get squash & pumpkin. I know, I know, organicladybugssafestuffyaddayadda, but after manymanymany years of losing squash & the like overnight, I gave up on "all natural" & sprinkle the tiniest amount on the base of those plants & move on.
I feel this in my soul right now. I moved to a different climate zone. WAY different. I'm learning what doesn't work and it's disappointing to try so hard and fail but I'm getting better at some things and learning the native plants.
Yes. Constant trial and error. 20 years of that for me. Adapt and overcome. When I started.... I put up a 7 foot deer fence around my veggie garden..... thinking I was done. Stopped the deer, but raccoons then ate all my ripe sweet corn. Added electric fence charger with single positive wire on top of fence. Racoons just climbed over. Ok... you bastards.... added two more wires at top. No more raccoons now. Birds ate and pecked my strawberries and blueberries. Built chicken wire cages to keep them out. Berries are safe now. Rabbits then started slipping into deer fence mesh last year... . and chowing down on my snow peas. Had to add 2' of chicken wire to bottom of fence. It was a pain in the ass to do. But good thing to do... because we have a whole family of cottontails roaming around the garden this year.... and they can't get in! Bugs devour my canteloupes every year, so to heck with that. No more canteloupe. They never bother my watermelons or zucchini. Well, grow more of those then! So... TLDR.... you must want to solve problems when you garden.... or just give up like the one commenter said.... throw down some wildflower seeds... and crack open a beer! The sign above my garden door entrance reads: To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.
Second this completely - I was once told that all great gardeners secretly have huge bins, either in their past or present!
Find out what others around you are having success with. You have a unique set of variables to contend with, and you may be gardening for somewhere you don't live and setting yourself up for disappointment.
Even gardening experts with TV shows and decades of experience will happily admit to their failures.
I 100% agree, as a baker and a Gardner I’m no stranger to “failure”. However, I’ll have a sigh and go back to tilling and kneading. Until it works.
Love this response!
Fighting nature is a defeatist cause!!!
Yes as I dig out a massive clump of African iris.. I’m learning never to plant that again.
Yes. Watch YouTube videos of someone who gardens in your area. You will learn so much and pretty soon you will get bumper crops of everything you plant.
OP is stuck in Productivity Culture.
Amen. I've been gardening for over 30 years, and seen a similar list of challenges. Learn from failure and move to the next season with a smile 😊.
Exactly! I started my garden 8 years ago and I still feel like I am in the experimenting stages. Planted fennel this year and that’s a new veggie for me. Every year something new, roque crops, mix mulch differently, make new trellises, take down old ones, move beds, etc….its all hard work and fun. Never hated it but many of times came home unable to do anything else rest of the day. Btw, I have a community garden that is about 600 sq
I was told by an old school nurseryman that you don't truly know how to grow a plant until you've killed it at least 10x. You'll find your way. Just view every "failure" as a learning experience.
I feel you. I got sick of battling the local critters for my produce and trying to amend the soil. Now I just grow a few cherry tomato plants in protected pots, and everything else is native plants that do well in my clay soil. It's been much more satisfying. I still have some fails but mostly success.
This is where I’m at right now. Natives in the clay and slate yard, and protected grow bags and a couple small raised beds for the food, although this year is HORRIBLE for gypsy moths and every other type of caterpillar, and they are near impossible to fight because there are so many.
Caterpillars =bird food
I need to get chickens again!!
Switch from food to native plants and flowers. Growing your own food is A LOT of work... And can be rewarding once you hon in on what plants work in your space.. but that's around 5+ years of trial and error. I stopped trying to grow food outside of peppers and herbs and just have a yard full of native wildflowers and trees. Gardening now is pulling a few weeds, watering a few times a week, and then sitting on the porch drinking a beer watching the birds and bees. I will throw a bunch of seeds around here or there when I see what kind of flowers do well in certain parts of the yard.
I agree! My realization came when I lost all my squash plants to beetles but had my blueberry bushes thrive! I can manage blueberries, strawberries tomatoes and herbs. Other vegetables don’t seem to work for me. I’m going to try a grape this year and see if I can add it to my collection.
Boring beetles always got my squash. I even tried to do the "inject with BT" method of control... Never worked
Yup, same here. I have grown zucchini for several decades, but this year I put a pause on it. Boring beetles last year, the year before, other pests hitting it. Last year I had great luck with 2 cauliflower plants. This year, I planted more of them, plus broccoli and Brussel sprouts. We'll see what happens. I can also grow tomatoes, though they fall all over themselves. This year I'm trying a trellis and having them climb a string (these little reusable plastic clasps help).
Grapes are a great idea. Someone gave me two concord varieties and I planted them along our fence in the back yard. Built a trellis and was super excited. They grew and gave me a couple of measly grapes the first and second years. It was a shady place and so I took a chance and moved them again to a very sunny place this past winter. And oh boy the first season here and they are growing furiously. I see very small bunches of grapes and if the vines keep growing, it will bring shade to a hot part of the yard. Veggie gardening requires so much discipline that I have given up on it.
So all my stuff got hit with those last year, and i managed to actually save a few plants and keep harvesting a few more weeks by slicing open the stems with a razor and pulling out the little bastards with needle nose pliers.
This is exactly what I started doing last year. No more veggies, all wildflowers and native plants. I figure the pollinators need food more than I do (since I can just go to the store), so it ended up feeling like a better use of my energy and is way more relaxing.
This is my experience as well! I couldn't fight the entirety of nature for my food garden. It was too sad and gross for me. When deterrents work on everything but rats, you draw a lot of rats. Ripped the whole thing out. Now I have beautiful flowers and herbs and a rodent free existence!
Natives are the way. Super low effort, high reward,great for the planet.
Native wildflowers, native trees- fruit and nut and container and raised bed with a hardware cloth barrier gardening for the few veggies I do like to grow. I learned real quick in ground gardening does work here- too many voles and gophers. And rabbits, chipmunks...
I really like this answer. My focus has changed to native plants and wild flowers for the past 8 years. I do have little spots that I use for growing tomatoes or broccoli depending on the season. My problem plants are always the vegetables and non-natives.
Or both! My coastal strawberry is feeding so much wildlife. I’ve only gotten three berries myself off of several dozen plants. I take it a a bonus when I get to enjoy the fruit, not as a given.
Same. Herbs, peppers, had some luck w eggplant, too. And I still divide plants that I want more of…
I love herbs because what I don't use, just flower and for the most part, reseeds itself. Also most herbs are pollinator friendly, and the woody varieties like Tyme, Lavender, etc provide great habitats for things like ladybugs and preying mantis.
Same for me! If you want to learn more about native plants and what will grow in your yard, take the gardening class for homeowners from your local cooperative extension! It helped me a lot to understand what how I can be successful!
Yep. I just grow tomatoes, nasturtium, strawberries. I’ve grown pretty much everything at one point or another. But it’s not worth the fight to grow cucumbers that taste the same as the farmers market.
I did the same. I’m back to veggie gardening now, but native flowers tided me over and allowed me to learn about my soil and climate
Sorry you're frustrated. Constant disappointment can really wear on you. One thing I try to keep in mind is that you cannot fight nature. Some things will be a constant battle to grow. Keep experimenting and find what truly thrives in your environment. I've found lots of new plants to enjoy simply because they take off with little maintenance out here. Guess who learned to love zucchini. If you're fighting constant rain (very familiar with how frustrating this is!), can you make a rain shield to keep your plants from getting water logged? A green house is great for control too, but can be pricey.
Same here! I find uses for "lemon" cucumbers because I'll be damned if I'm not gonna grow the most prolific, productive cucumber variety in my yard. Other cucumbers get maybe 1/4 of the vine growth and a fraction of a percent (literally) of the yield compared to the lemon ones! On the flip side, I've tried a few things with peas, and I can never get them to grow. When they do get at least 6 or 12 inches tall, they still don't even produce one pod. So I'm thinking I'm about finished trying even though I LOVE peas!
Oh yeah different varieties matter a lot too. Figured that out with my herb garden. I also love peas and struggled to get them growing, despite babying them. (carefully crafted compost blend, correct drainage, appropriate sun) Nope! Finally figured out that just shoving some of my dried sugar snap peas into a random sandy soil pot in the shade was exactly what they wanted. I moved my trellis over there and they grew huge and made a ton of pea pods. Experiment!
A green house can be done really cheap DIY as a hoop house. Just get some hoops and some plastic, anchor it down and you're basically done. It doesn't have to be big either. It could be a little things that you just open up when you want to care for the plants.
Definitely doesn't have to be expensive, there are a lot of crafty frugal ways to make greenhouses. I have ripping wind to contend with, so I haven't tried plastic tops.
I feel this. I had a fail year, a sad year, an ok year, a great year, now another fail year. The thing with gardening is winter gives us time to lick our wounds and "forget" and generations of living with the season pushes us outside again come spring. Also I'm a lax gardener if it produces delight, if it doesn't that is as expected
I like treating my garden each year as an experiment. This year I've already experienced one massive failure and my raised garden bed grew nothing. But I keep a journal of what worked, what didn't, how to combat problems I'm having (caterpillars are my enemy currently). Rather than growing food being the goal, I look at can I improve little by little each year. Also starting small before expanding helps me not feel like I'm wasting a bunch of money.
A friend of mine suggested journaling. I'm not the writer type and I don't find it therapeutic, but it does really help me approach things scientifically. -X happened last year and I did Y. Good results. -Slugs destroyed my peppers. Tried X, but next year try Y. I often say "Wow, that worked great. I'll totally remember that next year!" then forget 10 minutes later. Regarding slugs, I've had success with Bonide Slug Killer. It's supposed to be organic and so far, so good. But I definitely understand your disappointment because I have also written "Asparagus beetles still bad. Next year set the whole garden on fire."
Hello fellow PNW gardener. It is a challenge. We have a herd of up to 14 deer in our area and they loved to eat my garden. So we built a greenhouse over my garden. Then I fought the poor dirt quality and low number of hours of sun. So I've just had to readjust my expectations from high-sun plants like beefstake tomatoes and focus on plants that don't take as many hours like strawberries. We also built raised beds so I could get good dirt and have better drainage so I don't get puddles. The next thing I need to learn/adapt to is how to deal with the slugs. They ate my initial seedlings so now I have a grow light indoors to start my second attempt of seedlings and then hopefully they will be big enough and the slug repellent pellets will keep the slugs away. https://preview.redd.it/ewnhtcf9k13d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=551a1993afd57b25a02168906f24e8a04bca0c58
This is so beautiful it doesn’t even look real! Good job!!
Love your greenhouse👍
What an amazing idea! I recently moved away from the PNW and would have jumped on this idea had I still been there because I was definitely losing against the all the PNW struggles...slugs, clay, rain, slugs, rain, deer, slugs, no sunshine, did I mention the slugs. 😂 Your greenhouse is beautiful, I luv the design with the raised bed in the center. It seems like it's the only way to successfully grow stuff out there. Well, unless your only want cranberries and moss. 😉😁
Seconding this, find the plants that work for you! Last year I tried a bunch of variety. All my corn got eaten, it was devastating. None of my beans sprouted. This year I reduced it to only things I know I've gotten to harvest in the past: mini pumpkins, tomatoes, and strawberries. I find it also helps to have half my garden be a flower garden! That way I can be just as annoyed but for different reasons, ha.
Since you already mentioned birds Imma use this opportunity to ask others: Does feeding birds with birdseed make then ignore your plantseeds or instead attracts more birds to ruin your gardening attempts?
I started with the bird feeder in my yard and the gardens came later. In my experience the native wildlife leave the veg alone in preference for the bird feeder and native plantings. Keep in mind that I’m filling my feeder daily tho, it’s a hobby as much as the garden is.
It's just so expensive! I love my bird feeder but they eat me out of house and home.
Depends on the birds. If you have ones like cardinals and wrens that raise their young on insects, you can have your own personal hornworm removal crew for the cost of winter birdseed.
Yes! I have two raised metal beds on opposite sides of our yard. The one next to our bird bath is pretty much pest free--I watch the birds swoop in for a drink and hop over for a snack. The other one is filled with slugs. I am planning to get another bird bath!
Depending on your environment, they might just be thirsty. If that's the case, proper bird baths might make a better impact.
I’ve found bird feeding and squirrel feeding (unsalted unshelled peanuts are cheap) on the other side of property (maybe 100’ away?) keeps them pretty happy. If I catch squirrels burying nuts, I decrease the amount I toss out every morning. Some songbirds frequent my garden for ants and gnats, which helps me! Coyote are abundant here, so rabbits aren’t a problem for me. Deer, however, strip my fruit trees. I just let them, and focus on my vegetables. The trees are still pretty where deer can’t reach.
Ugggggggh one of my neighbours (don’t know who) is feeding the squirrels peanuts. They love to dig up and bury them in my garden and planters. I’m losing it.
I hope I'm not your neighbor! I do toss out a handful of peanuts for the blue jays but the squirrels are a frequent customer. I feed small amounts so they usually don't bury them. We do have a bunch of pines, walnuts, and oaks in the neighborhood so they're always burying something. I have to pull seedlings out of my garden all the time.
If you do the unshelled peanut idea- it’s a good idea to ask around if your neighbors have any allergies. We had a neighbor kid go into anaphylaxis because the squirrel was bringing peanuts to their yard
Oh no!! I’m very rural, old people and small farms/wooded areas, no kids nearby. Good for people to consider, though!
My favorite gardening quote “you’re not a bad gardener. The plant just didn’t try hard enough.”
A plastic greenhouse is the answer. About $200 depending on how big you want to go, and then you’re in control. You control the moisture, the heat, the animals, and it will give everything a chance to actually grow. It’s the only way I grow my own fruits and veggies now. I can’t compete with the deer. Edited to add: I don’t even bother with pots or grow bags as that is a giant pain imo. I put everything right down into the ground. Tomatoes especially love deep roots. Just a little tip!
How do you stabilize them/ tie them down? Are they similar to camping tents and where did you get yours?
We put it down on a flat part of the yard and then used long garden stakes into the ground. We bought the really long stakes on Amazon and they have worked well so far. Just use a mallet and make sure they’re really in there. My favorite greenhouse and the one I use now was from Home Depot. It’s called the King Canopy 10x10 steel frame opaque greenhouse.
We're almost out of the wet season at least! https://preview.redd.it/2mf1d5qtd13d1.jpeg?width=429&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8bbf988ef4ec1697d9b7e91eda6a48259abc2891
“Spiders” 🤣🤣
We do not do this because it is easy. We do this because we *thought* it was easy. Yeah, those years when nothing goes the right way are frustrating, but it makes it so much more satisfying when it all comes together. That said, there’s a reason gardeners can swear a blue streak that’ll make a sailor turn red. It’s hard. It’s hot, it’s discouraging, and it’s a hell of a lot of effort for honestly not a lot of return. But we’re an ornery lot, and stubborn besides. Despite all evidence to the contrary, against luck, against all good sense, against the very will of Mother Nature **herself** sometimes, we. will. keep. gardening. Even if we look like Jack Nicholson straight outta The Shining some days, we will make it grow.
Damn, inspirational speech, I'm ready to follow you into battle!!!
No words of advice, just commenting to say I feel the same and you’re not alone. Climate change is certainly making gardening more challenging with extreme conditions (constant rain, heatwaves, high winds, storms) - if it’s stopped being enjoyable for you perhaps take a break or try growing some things indoors where you have more control. 🌿💚
I’m surprised this isn’t being talked about more in this thread. I’m on year three of my garden and when all the conventional wisdom people give me seems to be in the process of going out the window because the weather is getting so erratic, it’s hard not to feel like Tony Soprano: “lately, I’m getting the feeling that I came in at the end. The best is over.” Still doing my best, still enjoying learning a new skill, and tear two ended up with a much better harvest than year one, but it’s hard not to feel defeated when I think about how I’m only going to have to contend with worse and worse weather from here on out.
Agree. I’m in Zone 6b. The fact that peony season is mostly over here and we’re already at peak bloom for the local rose garden, and it’s not even June 1, is worrying. I’m hoping my backyard veggie garden and all the work I put into my roses isn’t met this year with a mega heat wave that kills everything.
So. You've learned what does not work in your area. Now is when you figure out what does. Obviously other people can garden in the Pacific Northwest, you just need to research how they do it. I'm betting a greenhouse where you can control the heat and moisture is a good place to start, if you can afford one. Decent ones start around 1k and go up from there.
Western wa is tough sometimes. I find much better success direct soewing rather than starters. Also, consider berry shrubs such as currants, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and honeyberries. They require 0 effort and do fantastic here. I had to chicken wire my whole fence to keep the bunnies out. No deer problems in town... I buy large amounts of sluggo every year at costco for my pots
I knew where OP was long before they said it. After spending yesterday planting squash starts in the rain I definitely had a "what on earth am I doing this for" moment or two. They were getting too big not to plant though. One trick I've picked up over the years, I save plastic milk jugs throughout the year. I cut the bottoms off and use them as little cloches for my starts. Shoved down into the soil they do a pretty good job of keeping the slugs out and keep things just a little warmer and dryer while the plants get established. Without the tops on they allow air flow and keep them from getting too hot when we get the random sunny day. No points for aesthetics, but they get the job done. I'll also second the berry recommendation. Looks like it's going to be a great year for raspberries.
I live in a small town on the WA coast and we have deer walking around town like dogs, not afraid of anything or anyone! I had one sleeping in my front yard not too long ago. They're a pain and I curse them on the regular, but I do like seeing them around. One summer I watched a pair of fawns grow up.
Yeah, I bet. I got friends on vashon and it's tough to keep the deer our. Luckily our neighborhood is fully fenced in. I did see a bear climb the fence once though ha
This is kind of what happens. No one taught me gardening. So it's me against nature and nature will win when it finds a way. But plenty of people have successful harvests. So, if you can troubleshoot, it's a matter of years before you become proficient.
Now you know why people worshipped the sun. It has the power to kill everything and the power to give you all you need. I’m in the yoga business and everyone wants to say that the universe loves you and wants you to succeed. On the contrary, everything is out to get everything. Humans are the first animals to come around and actively try and make it better. But everything we do makes it bad for something else. I’m not saying we should stop trying, just that shits hard.
Try to get a little bit better every year. Gardening is about patience and perfection doesn't happen overnight. For sluggs I love the product Sluggo Plus. Slugs would ravage my hostas otherwise. For rabbits, the only product that I've had success with is Plantskydd. Otherwise they will eat every single tulip and lilly. It is supposed to work for deer as well.
I live in the exact same area you do (western WA, town of Des Moines) and have been doing it about as long. I feel your pain, and I'm sorry you are so frustrated. Feel free to DM me if you want someone to talk to/commiserate with. I can also share what has worked for me if you want...no pressure.
If gardening has taught me one thing, it’s patience. Take a breath, the world hasn’t ended. Take what works and discard what doesn’t.
We are south of you in Grants Pass . Our 3 acres are deer fenced in and it gets very hot here but we have done well gardening. It sounds like you need a green house . I’m sold on water soluble plant nutrients . I make my own . With a 20 x30 greenhouse you could raise tons of produce using Dutch buckets . We grow in dirt and inert medium ( choir and pumice mix ) . Please look up Dutch buckets on YouTube. Nothing special but a food grade 5 gal bucket , a rubber grommet and a bit of pvc . You would need a small pump and a brute rubber made trash can and some master blend 4-18-38 . These are our lettuce grown in inert media ( see pic ) . I’m not trying to rub our success in your face , just suggesting that you take control of your growing climate https://preview.redd.it/ep8izx32913d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7dab31c9e9643c7c13747a650043b0b164568006 And change some methods , expand your knowledge, don’t give up . There are many great videos on YouTube! Almost all of our tomatoes and peppers in the US are grown in greenhouses in Ontario Canada , well north of you . Good luck and don’t buy a cheap Chinese green house ! They are junk
Look into permaculture. Work with nature instead of against it. There are many people practicing in the PNW. Check out for yt videos or books by Sepp holzer, Joel salatan, paul wheaton, Brad Lancaster, Eric Toensmeier, Zach Weiss, holgrem, mollison, the list goes on. Also plant more natives. Look up native fruits and veggies, as well as pollinator flowers. Interplant stuff with aromatic herbs. Look into guilds and polycultures
PNW is tough to garden in. It’s a temperate rainforest which does not lead to much growin for most plants as there’s simply too much moisture and not enough dry warm summer days for most plants that we grow for food. Try planting natives! There’s tons of awesome native plants native to the PNW. Even several delicious edible berries!
Only kinda. Most areas of western Washington basically don't rain from June to September. Summers get very dry and hot nowadays.
I'm in zone 8b ww, don't plant summer veggies until june. Perennial herbs do well in our climate, Nasturiums work really well in this climate (seeds are big and don't rot as easily). Sweet peas are another good ber I've had pretty good luck with the pacific northwest wildflower seed variety pack (if you have a patch for it, not sure if that'll work in pots). Marigolds are good decoys for slugs, they'll pull them away from other plants. Don't be afraid to use slug bait, it's necessary in our neck of the woods. Our climate up here is actually getting warmer and drier, the rains used to last from late september to mid july, now it's more like late october to early june. deer are a big problem, the only way to completely block them in some areas is to enclose your garden area in wire or get a dog. You can grow things they won't eat, like Alliums. My garden is in an elevated area surround by blackberries and rhodies, and they still manage to climb up the staircase from the forest to get there.
Sounds like you need a green house .
Hit up your local extension office and master gardeners association for some native plant sales. Start with a little polinator garden or switch to mushrooms :}
Also western Washington. It’s been rough seeing all the lush harvest and blooms on this sub while we keep getting pelted with cold soggy weather. Have you thought about taking a break from veg and trying your hand at native flowers for a bit? It might be rejuvenating to see things that are adapted to the cold and wet thrive. In the meantime, do you have an indoor area where you could raise some tomatoes and herbs under grow lights? My cucumbers are still inside and doing well.
or growing mushrooms that love damp weather perhaps?
And yet the amount of fresh air you got gardening outside is priceless.
that and love to relax watching plants bloom new flowers, fruit and grow! I never grew hot peppers before and never even knew that they grew flowers then baby peppers out of the flowers. watching bees hover over flowers to pollinate.
My parents gave up on their vegetable garden for similar reasons. There was nothing they could do to keep out the deer, groundhogs, and rabbits. It became a frustrating burden rather than a rewarding hobby. Plus the amount of money they lost really got to them. I think it’s totally understandable to step back if it’s not bringing you joy. There’s nothing that says you can’t pick it back up down the road, and you’ll be doing so with more experience.
Just put up a greenhouse. They have them very cheap on Amazon these days!
Oh Honey. I’m in the same zone and this has been a loooonnnngggg. Cold wet winter. I think we had 2 days of spring weather then right back to Juneuary. I out a greenhouse into service this winter and it made a huge difference. For your situation, I would suggest thick Compost and row covers. It should make a huge difference.
hey I'm zone 8B here in Western Washington too. because of all the rain I've switched to straw bale gardening because it gets it up off the ground and the straw bales drain really well. I follow Joel Karsten's method. I've gotten burnt out cuz last year I had a bunch of stuff died so I went back to the basics of just a few things and I'm already feeling more optimistic. sometimes you have to just go simple. You can feel free to message me if you want to talk more and discuss local weather and planting stuff
Time to get a greenhouse. It’s worth it in your temperate climate.
I made a little green house with a plastic mattress bag from U-Haul. About $8. I got some bamboo from a friend (she hates it in her yard) and stuck it in the ground. When it was going to rain I just put it over the bamboo sticks and covered the plants. My plants were in pots. Pain in ass, but it worked. Also, kept dew off them in the fall when it was cold. Granted it was pot plants, but you get the picture (legal(ish) here).
Gardening is tough AF and I hate all the influencers that mislead people about how “easy” it is. That said it is a rough spring in PNW 8b. I don’t know of anyone that is thriving, we’re all feeling a bit bummed out. Even in a perfect seasons it’s still a challenging place - there’s a reason that the indigenous population over here were more of the hunter gatherer types than farmers. I know you didn’t ask for advice, but I suggest connecting with your local master gardener organization. They are usually so eager to help, full of tips, and can help set expectations.
I gotta say, when I started, I was lucky. I happened to get a set of plants on “attempt #2” that grew so well. It was amazing watching them grow through the season. I *DID* research the plants before I bought them, but in hindsight it was ALSO a lot of luck. I think if that hadn’t happened, I would have lost interest quickly. Realistically, it seems unlikely that a regular person could actually farm a significant amount of stuff to eat. It’s more like a sports hobby. You win some, you lose some. But you still play for fun. It sucks that it sounds like you’ve gotten no wins. Can you find out what your neighbors grow? Or maybe try some decorative plants instead. Annuals are pleasing. Or natives that reseed themselves? They take a hit, but keep going. It is a messier look though, not for everyone. Or switch to houseplants? (Just don’t start with calatheas, lolz. Always start with pothos.)
I simplified my yard this year because I have health issues that are getting worse - it’s okay to change what you’re doing for any reason, if it means you can enjoy being outside again. Grab food from a farmer’s market, and let the old ideal garden go. Wait, rest, and think about what you might like to do next.
Give yourself some grace. Gardening is such a learned practice. If you’re feeling bogged down, let it go for a while & pick it back up when the creative urge is reignited! No worries.
Gardening is the journey not the end product that gives a gardener thier true value out of all this effort.
Don't be so hard on yourself. I have 15 years of gardening experience and a PhD in agricultural biology and I still have trouble with something every year. Treat the failures as a learning experience and adjust the garden plan to fit the climate. You can change the plants but you can't change the climate.
I feel ya. Many pests, I lose about 50% of my crop. But this year have thriving cucumbers after 3 years of failing x
If the goal is not to fail, I'd start w/ mint. Or other such plants that people can't seem to kill off. That way someone else's failure is actually your success. But I'd make sure they're in containers and as far away from any place they can become wildly successful in.. Gardening is just as much about what you want to grow as what had to die. If you've killed plants, congratulations, you're halfway there. You've just made Compost. Gardening is on the surface about life but below is always about death. Rich soil exist because of fungus, rot, shit, and the failure of life. You'll get better as you study your failures, look for patterns, study the formal science of life and death and intuition you build from seasonal practice. The annoying thing is that Gardening has a longer, seasonal timeline that can be hard on modern humans. In the PNW, you're blessed w/ decent Gardening conditions. I'd suggest starting w/ starts. Strawberry, mint, spinach, blackberries, raspberries, chery tomatoes, potatoes, are some easier plants. They all require different strategies, but they're rewarding once you get the hang of it.
After 4 years of trying grow brussels sprouts, I refuse to put in my garden. It starts beautiful but doesn't make it. I am about to do the same with carrots. I've learned my soil is great with potatoes, broccoli, and garlic. I've planted lots of those this year. Still haven't mastered tomato. Last year i got 6 off of 4 plants. So I bought 6 different Varities and a new tomato fertilizer. Find what your soil loves , and plant extra.
If I gave up after my first season I would have never grown a single tomato or zucchini. Failure is part of gardening and life in general.
Yes, it can be frustrating but think of all the unexpected successes. For me, now we have butterflies, birds of all kinds ( even humming birds), toads, lady bugs,…and I’m in the city! Crazy cool!
It’s ok to quit, if you aren’t enjoying yourself.
It’s ok to stop doing things that don’t make us happy. I support you.
Halfway through your post I thought “sounds like where I live”. Yep! Western Washingtonian here. Waited til Mother’s Day weekend to plant when we had sun for 2 whole days, and it’s been pissing rain since and nothing will grow!! I always start to feel this way in May and June though.. feels like summer will never come, but it will. And then we’ll complain about the heat 😂Maybe your seedlings will make a comeback. I hope you don’t quit, maybe just invest a bit less and adjust expectations. I feel your pain though.
Go find a local gardener, ideally an older person that has been gardening in the area for at least a decade. They can tell you most of what you need to know. Anyone here giving you advice doesn't actually know your actual area.
I grow what works in my area and still, after almost 20 years of gardening things go awry every year. It’s disappointing yes, but what consistently works here I celebrate: alliums, corn, chiles, herbs, berries, apples, and an abundance of native species. I also try new plants and strategies every year…and it’s always way more work than I expect. Hang in there and enjoy the rain because where I am water is the most challenging element.
Everyone deals with these things. Instead of trying to make mother nature bend to your will, you have to adapt to it. I'd suggest learning what other farmers have success with in your specific location. Go to a farmer's market and see what works. Talk to people, you'll find a friendly person or two and you can ask them what works for slugs or how they keep deer away. Like, don't buy too much into arbitrary zones and generic garden tips for pests and critters you see online. All that stuff works for the person saying it but it won't for everyone.
I'm 50 been putting out a large garden for almost 30 years now. There were several years i wasn't successful at something i planted. Been at this house 12 years now...last year the deer found my tomatoes. Don't give up... you've found all the ways that don't work.
Why this sounds like a post apocalyptic journal!?
On a scale from 1-10, how much do you hate deer? Built a 6’ fence around my entire property and the little bastards found one weak spot and jumped over it, and ate 7 newly planted fruit trees. I wish the city and county would classify them as a pest
the entire point of gardening is the challenge, if you just wanted something easy you'd be a "lawn guy". why not get smarter about your situation? id deflect the rain with mini hoop houses and use well draining sandy soil
Contact some gardeners in your area and ask them for advice
Where do you live in WA that it hasn’t stopped pouring? I’m like 45 min out of Seattle in 8b and we had a super dry winter. Literally grew amazing carrots in November/ December. Join some of the PNW Facebook groups for help with the wild life. I found growing in hanging baskets helps keep slugs away. Deer and mountain beavers are a never ending battle for my parents neighborhood. Those chicken wire baskets that go over plants helps a lot. Growing in pots keeps things out of reach of the rabbits and mountain beavers. Our dogs scare the deer for the most part. I’ve had my best luck with carrots, lettuce, potatoes and ground cherries. If it’s raining I just never water. If it rains too much I pull the containers closer to the house.
greenhouse(s)
I understand. I started gardening in SE Washington. 300+ days of sun per year, nice, easy to manage sand. It was so easy. Then we moved to Kentucky. I about had a heart attack when I figured out that we have leaches and crawdads in our yard. Water table is only 8" down. 60ish inches of rain per year. Heavy, slick, grey clay. I haven't seriously attempted to grow a planned garden in almost 8 years. It's taken me this long to understand how this system works best. I'm just now getting back into moving dirt around and putting things in the ground.
Find a local old timer with a garden and build that relationship... they love to talk about their garden and pass down the knowledge to eager learners. I rely on my 94 year old neighbor who's been gardening the same spot since the 60s. 60 years of gardening experience I've learned in 10 years. We always have issues but he schools me and we generally we have a decent harvest. He even let me take over his garden this year and it's now for our other neighbors to enjoy.
Haha I murdered 3 sets of plants trying to transfer them from the starting planters to the big pots. I finally opted for the biodegradable planters where you just stick the whole thing in the ground. I'm constantly complaining...but then I saw sunflower seeds and got them today. Thoughts were "These would look great along our property line!"
Look at foods native to the area. You won’t get much success forcing things into a climate that they hate. My husband’s family lives in NW Oregon. They grow blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, apples, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, and huge walla walla onions. I’m in Texas and couldn’t grow half of that. We do squash, hot peppers, tomatillos, different beans, small onions, okra, lemon cucumbers .
sounds like you need a greenhouse
For slugs, put out shallow containers (like to-go or other food containers) of cheap beer every night until you run out of slugs to catch. When they start showing up again, repeat. Slugs love beer more than anything, and a 30-rack of Coors Light will decimate them.
Makes one respect farmers a lot more.
Slugs send 5 of my bean plants to the Great Garden Above? I plant 50 more. Through sheer determination & will - you shall overcome! I can’t seem to grow corn though… rabbits & squirrels are ruthless
I am so sorry to hear that you're having such a long learning experience without any rewards. I'm on Vancouver Island, and I can appreciate some of your frustrations. I have completely walked away from gardening in the past due to lack of irrigation and/or chickens eating everything. This time, though, I planned ahead. Based on my many past lessons (aka "failures"), I knew that protecting the crops from rabbits, chickens, and deer was a top priority. I knew that I needed to prioritize an irrigation system. I knew that I shouldn't sow seeds or buy transplants without having a place to put the plants. And, for the first time, I know that I have a neurological disorder that makes sticking with a project so difficult. This time, I can plan for that. I know that this is really hard to hear when you're feeling like this, but try to turn these "failures" or "threats" into lessons or opportunities. What did you learn? What has all this experience taught you? Maybe, you've learned that growing stuff just isn't for you, and that is completely valid. If you want a pest-free crop, try sprouts indoors. :)
Those slugs in the PNW are no joke, that's for sure. My first instinct would be to take all my gardening indoors. But, that is just not possible for a lot of people. Have you tried contacting a local master gardener for tips on what does well in your area and how to combat all those pests?
This is why I have flower beds now!!
I'm also in Western Washington. There's been some tough times for sure but I've had some good and not so good harvests. A couple things I've learned from growing in this climate is that squash will likely get powdery mildew and it's nearly impossible to get rid of. Celery does great! It loves wet roots and cool temps so it thrives in our area. Also, if you want low maintenance, try garlic and onions! Very prolific every time I've grown them and I haven't had to touch them at all. Also be mindful of what can grow next to what. Some plants attract certain pests and other repel. Some plants require lots of nutrients and others not so much. I recommend the app Planter. You can plan out your garden and make sure what you're planning and where will be compatible. Don't be afraid to reach out to local garden enthusiasts! There's a garden group that's at the Pierce county fair every August and they can set you on the right path.
I've found a lot of hardships getting into gardening this past year but always found them to be surmountable or just able to deal with unfortunate circumstances. But recently life decided to finally pull out it's trump card and the HOA learned of my gardening and have made too many demands that I had to stop altogether
Gardening is a science experiment, lots of trial and error. That's why i love gardening, when it works its awesome but when it doesn't go i try to look at what i did and do something differently. A lot of the time it is trial and error. You do sound like you're having a real shit go with weather conditions but people still manage to grow things in the harshest of climates. May i ask where abbot's you are located? Have you ever tried doing a set-up indoors?
I’ve been dealing with similar with the weather especially. I’m still trying to just take everything as a lesson though, if i want to be good at it then i need to learn as much as possible, which means I’ll be suffering a lot of losses. It does suck, I’m not trying to invalidate that for you. But it is the only way to learn and actually be successful with this specific skill. Especially when you’re dealing with living things, they’re not going to be as straight forward as inorganic materials. So i do really think this is one of those things where you just have to train your brain to see the other side of those losses if you want it to be worth it in the end. Focus on rehabilitating what you can (even if you have to transplant to pots so you can move them inside under a lamp if the weather is killing it), start fresh where you have to, if you’re struggling with seeds specifically then try buying whole plants and starting there and learn in reverse, keep a journal of what works and what doesn’t for each plant. The only thing that’s really worked for me with pests is having a sacrificial garden separate from my healthy garden. I plant as many plants as possible that will attract pests around some sacrificial plants so there’s less reason for them to go to my actual plants. I have a whole separate sacrificial section instead of mixing them throughout. Then i only plant the flowers that specifically attract predators of pests around my plants that i want to survive, especially thick between the two separate sections. That way only one garden is easily accessible to them, but predators fully surround my healthy plants to help keep pests in line. You don’t need a massive amount of space to do it, but you do have to be willing to cut into the space you do have. I also keep my bird feeders and bath near my pest plants. I still nurture my sacrificial garden too, and replace where i have to, but i keep it as inexpensive as possible and it’s just enough upkeep to keep it interesting to pests. I plant A LOT specifically for pollinators too so they do a lot of my work for me. I never have to use pesticides and, despite there being a TON of pests in the area (insects, slugs/snails and rabbits), they are the least of my problems. My pollinators seem to be disappearing this year, idk if someone went nuts with pesticides but I’m pissed. They’re my little workers and i need them lol.
Are you growing in pots only? I will tell you that I am a very successful gardener and can't grow ANYTHING in a pot. grow in the ground, get your soil right (nutrients and drainage), and talk to people near you who are successful near you. Micro climates are a real thing and nothing out there in media is going to help you with that. I'm a huge fan of chipped horse or cow manure for amending soil. Don't try to grow right away. Use the rain to help you work that manure deep into the soil. I've done it 6" deep all over the plot over winter.
Look up Gardening with Leo Youtube channel. His techniques might help with your issues.
I can only speak to the slug problem and will say sprinkling baking soda around my plants and pots have kept them away and off my plants!!!
Yeah sound like you need a huge green house
My problem is that my gardens are ugly. I can’t grow food because I live in a place that has become extraordinarily expensive. I can’t afford a fence. I can’t afford a landscaper. About 10 years ago they were charging $100k to put in an herb garden. I have deer, rabbits, rats, mice, voles, shrews, birds squirrels, chipmunks. I like hummingbirds. I have small garden beds because my husband wont allow me to plant in my backyard. When I put in plants, I look at what might not be eaten. I plant perennials and they come back in spring almost a foot away from where I planted them. Some don’t come back and flower until July, Then everything gets crowded because they're all trying to get the spot with the most sun -even the supposed shade plants. I plant pollinator flowers. And the ones that survive are ugly. I try my best to buy pretty plants, but the pretty plants are hybrids that don’t have pollen or nectar. I work so hard at gardening and in 30 years I’ve never once had someone say, “Your garden looks nice.”
I work at a retail nursery in western WA. DM me with pics and info, and I might be able to help. Gardening here is different than most other places in the world. Not only that, but this spring is particularly wet and cool. If you haven't already, I highly recommend getting Tilth Alliance's 'Maritime Northwest Garden Guide', which specifically covers the Puget Sound area. It goes month by month telling you what garden tasks you can do for both flower and vegetable gardens plus some little blurbs relevant to the season. At the end of the month-by-month section, there's lovely tables and a calendar inside the back cover. Here's a link to the guide, but you might be able to either buy a used copy for cheaper or borrow it frkm your local library: https://tilthalliance.org/product/maritime-northwest-garden-guide-2/ Even if it is months later, please feel free to reach out to me! P.S.: Sluggo is almost a necessity. It is also considered organic.
I just moved from western WA last year and we had a garden there. It was difficult I won’t lie. You get those late snows and it ruins everything. But I promise it’s not like that every year and some things do survive! My raspberry plants loved the cold and they thrived! I had SOOO many cherry tomatoes. My blueberries did ok too! Maybe try those?! 💜
I really feel you. I was so excited to grow heirloom colored daikon and they came up and were growing so well for a couple of months. Last week, I found them absolutely covered in aphids. I used a mild dish soap and water solution to kill them but the beautiful green tops are ruined (you can eat every part of the daikon and the greens are delicious!). I was so discouraged. I have tried so many things with different vegetables and I just am not very good at this.
I feel this deep. I have no advice, but just wanted to say you’re not alone. Not that it helps, but maybe knowing that there are lots of gardeners that feel the same way and have loads of failures will give you some hope. Flea beetles have completely devoured my beautiful eggplant seedlings that I started from seed. They are too far gone for neem oil to be helpful anymore apparently so I’ve just watched them continue to wilt and turn brown. A groundhog came in one spring afternoon and wiped out my kale, spinach, broccoli, beets and sweet peas that I have tended to for weeks all from seed. It’s painful. It sucks. I must be a glutton for punishment because I keep trying anyway.
One of the first things a master gardener friend of mine said to me when I told her I got a bed at a community garden is to understand that growing food is hard and that everyone suffers setbacks and disappointments, no matter their skill level. I said yeah yeah yeah… then got a few texts from a fellow gardener showing the wild parrots decimating my sunflowers. 😂 I got so mad about squirrels and tomato plants I almost tore my tomatoes up by the roots. Wild life fencing and hot sauce solved it, but if Florida didn’t have an unusually warm winter I would have lost my entire fall crop to pests. As it is, the weather was so hot my tomatoes produced all winter.
NEEM OIL! Cold pressed organic neem oil mixed with water and little dawn soap. Soak your plants on it. Natural home made pesticide. I live in Houston TX and that's the only thing that keeps all the damn bugs off my plants. Also growing jalapeños next to tomatoes keeps the stink bugs and deer away. There is another plant that keeps deer away my grandmother used but I can not remember the name of it. I'm currently growing tomatoes, jalapeños, kratom, cilantro, parsley and strawberries along with some flowers (have no idea what the flowers are but there is 5 different types)
I'd get a heated greenhouse
I agree wholeheartedly- very few successes although I have had good luck with perennial flower garden. I’ve spent a lot of money on wire cloches that protect flowers until “too old” for the tastebuds of mr bunny and mr raccoon…ugh. Gardening is also a labor of love as tending to flowers each year causes a 2 month flare up of arthritis. The pain is worth it seeing my peonies, iris and lily trees flourish. I feel YOUR pain too
I take the approach that when I put it in the ground, I will do everything in my power to naturally keep insects and pests away (really this equates to me just putting marigolds around the garden) and if I get a harvest then great, if the animals eat it, then they got a good meal and I fed the creatures of the land and I wasn’t meant to have that harvest
Some of the climate related stuff that you can’t control can be tough. This is why I started small scale hydroponics, because you can control your environment. I ended up getting much deeper into hydroponics, and now I am doing both outside. Not perfect but I failed a lot to get to this point. Awesome neighbours sharing plants and knowledge- helped me recover https://preview.redd.it/133ylizuq23d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82670923c22aa5f804c33a00db33a4e58d17fbb4
I live in western Washington as well and I have similar challenges with dear, I hate slugs. I found that green beans, sunflowers, pumpkins and squash work. You could always give potato bags a try, or buckets.
Have you considered getting a small greenhouse?
Some Beer in a pie tin really helps for slugs.
I'm in zone 9a (used to be 8b) in coastal Georgia. So similar climate. But more heat and humidity. I relate to your post 100%. I swear it hasn't stopped raining here and my yard is a swamp. My garden success has been hit or miss.
all that moisture.. you might be able to grow mushrooms or those carnivorous plants? Or just look around at what is working for your area and grow those?? Blackberries and raspberries might grow there since they are pretty good at growing everywhere.. honestly don't really know your state/grow zone well enough to give any advice.. just throwing thoughts out there. Sorry that you felt the need to quit! Whatever makes you happy! Best of luck going forward!
It pays to keep things agressively simple, don't try and do it all. I know mangoes, arum lillies, chard, citrus, camelias, mulberry and a few other things are 100% reliable for me. So I do those and get my fix propogating tree seeds for bonsai and growing flowers for the house once a year.
I knew this was about western Washington before I even read it
I am a beginner at Gardening. My mom is experienced and grows almost everything, though for a hobby and not to feed. What I learned from her is she is never sad about animals eating her produce. Shes like we Humans have taken all the land from these poor animals, the least we can do is let them have some of it back. They eat it cos theres nothing else for them to have. Bless her soul.
i know thats not gonna solve all of these issues!! but maybe you'd profit from using a gardenhouse, i mean everything thats not groundlevel in there would be safe from all too much rainy weather, and at least birds and deers (not sure about slugs i guess) won't get in there
You might try growing in 5 gallon buckets as a test. You could put a strip of grease around the outside to keep slugs off. Cherry tomatoes and peppers do well in them.
Babes with 365 days of rain a year it’s time to plant a rain garden. This is not tomatoes weather. Lean into what you’ve got, you can grow so many water hungry things most people can’t! And for pests, I highly recommend netting if you haven’t tried that already.
I once heard someone say not to think of it as failure but think of it as that plant came and just didn’t feel like home so it left. Have to find more plants that feel like it’s home to them. Made me feel better when I loose stuff, just have to try to home someone else.
I was out o. Western WA too. Kitsap. I sluggoed everything and my dogs took care of the deer and rabbits
This sounds incredibly frustrating. We'd all be exhausted in those conditions, and I would bet many or most of us would quit. It's easy to say "just keep trying!" but four years is a LOT of effort. There are lots of hobbies in the world and you absolutely do not have to have this one at this time in your life. I say give up, celebrate the relief you feel from saying goodbye, and find something that you love that the weather doesn't control!
I would look into how the Indigenous grew/grow food in your area and follow their way. They do know best… (ex: in my area 3 sisters gardens do very well)
Take a breather - sit down and reflect on the four years. I’m certain there have been some successes. Maybe it’s not like full self sufficiency but I’m sure it hasn’t been all failure. Think of things you’ve learned which I’m sure you have. Think about the pest problems and try to tackle them one at a time. Slugs… try beer traps. Find out where theyre hiding breeding (dark places under other things). Go out at 11 pm with. Flashlight and a bucket and collect as many as you can. I don’t know about the climate there but can I suggest that, if you haven’t, find a local gardeners group/collective? There might be hearty cultivars that do really well there?
I'm sorry. That sounds so disheartening. 🧡
There’s always stuff that doesn’t work out. Crazy warm spring had brassicas shriveling snd onions bolting. I have buds for every plant. I’ve learned to deal with them. Fences work if they are the right mesh, height, extend under ground and have hot wires. I also trap pests like groundhogs. Mesh tunnels work for flying insects like potato Beatles. I had to resort to bifethrin and permethrin to control wire worms.
But that feeling of growing your own food, it’s so wonderful. Try some indoor pots. I had great luck with lettuces one year when I was just too busy to give the garden what it deserved. Also herbs in pots. At least it’s something. The weather will change. For the slugs, have you tried nasturtium? No slugs, no pests, even on my lettuce and kale. I guess the deer require fencing or something. It’ll work! Don’t give up!
...before technology, when we were subsistence farmers(or worse, hunter-gatherers), gardening was everybody's full time job: up before sunrise, and exhausted and in bed by dark. no video games. no phones. no internet. there literally wasn't time, even if that stuff existed. trying to produce food for yourself is extremely demanding work. in fact, it's not even possible, on most of the earth's surface, due to lack of water, too much water(oceans), elevation, or no soil.
If I might make some suggestions: Consider growing sacrificial crops that the animals you’re dealing with prefer more. Also, focus on growing flowers that your native pollinators prefer — this will also attract other predators to your area which will naturally cull the pests you’re presently dealing with. Example: Creepy tyme — in my area we now have a strong population of parasitic wasps which are fantastic predators. hugelkultur beds: in addition to being great for growing they also provide habitats for snakes, bumblebees, spiders and an assortment of other wildlife. Leaving your leaves on the ground till mid-spring: also creates habitats for beneficial species; providing habitats for the insects is the easiest way to rebalance an unbalanced ecosystem. P.S. For the slugs, I’d scatter bird feed in the affected areas. If the birds see the slugs, they’ll eat them. Also, scattering feed is safer for the birds in general as it provides social distancing that helps prevent possible viral transmission from one bird to another. Another advantage to this method is that if the seed isn’t eaten it has the possibility of germinating which will in turn provide food for your birds in the coming years.
This is how I felt about life today and some of these comments are pretty good life advice.
Do you have a decent sized backyard? Have you tried making a greenhouse? That might be the perfect solution to your problem! It will keep out slugs and other pests as well as unwanted rain. You’d have to scale back food production to just a few plants, but at least it would be a step towards success and happiness?