Things I've learned this year from gardening

• I bought 3 heads of sprouting garlic at the grocery store last Fall. Half expected them not to grow but all came up. Do you know how many garlic plants that is? Heh. Planted them in rows around my brussels sprouts and cauliflower.

 

In March I noticed the plants closest to the garlic were half the size of their siblings elsewhere. Seems like garlic is a water sucker. I dug them up and moved to other places in the garden. Their roots look like Medusa's head! Two months later my stunted brussels sprouts are taller than the originally tallest plant (which is much farther along in sprout growth tho...). Garlic will be planted in its own bed from now on.

 

• When I moved in the front yard was all acid-loving plants and the back yard was base soil plants. That decided I would plant the gardenias and hibiscus in the front and non-acid plants in the back. I could MirAcid freely in the front and plain Miracle Gro in the back. After last year's drought I've determined to produce as much food as possible this year, and most before June in case the drought and insane heat repeats.
  
  I created a spreadsheet with columns for the veggie name, prefers acid, prefers base, preferred planting date, and amt of water needed per week. I never knew most, I mean MOST, veggies prefer soil on the acidic side! This year I use a lot more MirAcid but my garden is going great guns. Freezer stocked, I eat very well, and love handing bags of veggies to friends and neighbors.

• When 1/2" of rain falls overnight, dump it from the rain gauge instead of getting a "full weekend" reading. I wonder how much over 5" splashed out of here when Sugar Land just south of me got 7.5" overnight and Bellaire just east of me got 6.5" overnight....