My preview of the Hidden Gardens Tour reminds me that I haven’t been keeping you updated on my garden progress. Actually, it’s not because I have let the garden go to seed — no pun intended. If you want to know how I doing on my gardening resolutions, now, six months into the deal, let’s do a blow by blow and check it out:

1. As I said before, I (well, my step-father) built the raised beds.

2. I said I would construct a quality irrigation system using drip irrigation with  a timer. Progress. We have installed a quality irrigation system but somehow the timer was broken when installed, so there is no automatic drip, there is just drip when you turn it on. It’s working well, though, with the plants, overall, thriving.

3. I will make a reasonable and well thought-out planting plan. I hate to admit this but I’m not really sure I did as well as I might. The tomatoes, despite being almost two feet apart, are  turning into a forest.  I don’t know if it was the rabbit manure or what. The peppers are being dwarfed. The squash was planted late and hasn’t bloomed yet. The parsley turned out to be cilantro and quickly went to seed, but not before I almost put it into a pot of spaghetti sauce, which would have been a dreadful mistake.

4. I will keep up with the weeding. In the beds, yes. But outside, the weeds are raging. I’ve won many battles, but still fear I will ultimately lose the war. Fortunately with the drip irrigation, I have the comfort of knowing that no water is going to weed-infested areas.

5. I will not start any other time consuming major projects or new hobbies between March and June. Well, I basically am doing okay unless you count … doing the full time music teaching job or starting a home summer school.

6. We will not go on any two week long vacations during the harvest season this year. We are going to Minnesota, but only for a week around Independence Day. By that time the tomatoes should be at their peak … at least it’s only for a week. The road to hell is proverbially paved with good intentions, you know.

7. I will try to keep well-informed and inspired by reading blogs about gardens. Joe the Gardener is a good one.  He’s currently working on something called the “$25 victory garden.” Also very useful is the Dallas Morning News chart of what to do each month in the gardens here.

8. I will update this blog regularly with my successes and failures.  I have done that, if you count every other month as regular. Okay, I could have said more about the garden.