Backup Plan

This spring will mark my third annual attempt at gardening. I've been spending the winter plotting, researching and trying to become an expert. I've had some signifiacnt challenges in ther past, Last year was especially hard. It was extrememly hot here and I only successfully grew tomatoes. Everyday I would evnture out to tend to my plants and find the leaves had yeollowed and burned through from the sun. And, then there were the weeds. Ugh, the weeds! It seemed like everytime I pulled one, a new one grew in its place, immediately. All of this just made the experience lackluster. It's exciting when you can make dinner from your backyard. There is something very fulfilling about it. Needless to say, my previous garden left me unfulfilled. This year I have a backup plan. A few weeks ago CityCrab came home with a share in a local CSA. Of course, the list of bounty is contingent on their growing season but I am excited to see the weekly crop they have and compare it with mine. It all comes from the ground and it is all good. Here is a list of some of the tools using this year to optimize my garden: Weed Mat - this is a durable mat you can place down between plants to keep weeds at bay. Fabric Screen - this is typically used to keep out pests but I am primarily using it to shield plants form sun. It screens out 15% of sunlight. Trugs - I love these. I see them everywhere from Lowe's to Land of Nod and they hold everything from, platns, weeds, toys, books and rain water. And, on my dream list, is a rain barrel. I need to do some addiitonal reserach here to determine type, where I can collect optimally, This may be a 2013 initiative. I shop locally but also use Gardener's Supply for some harder to find items.