Pests, Posies, and Poverty of Earth

Today, I simply gave up on the Swiss chard Byron planted nearly a month ago. It never came up! The kale, which was planted about the same time, is all of three inches, and pallid. The spinach, which is among the easiest plants to raise, never showed up either. The green beans popped up almost immediately, and the radishes, our first veggie, are looking harvest-able. Half the zucchini crop (3) were murdered by some creepy insect thing underground and only three plants are flowering. The carrots and romaine lettuce are sickly and have not gained any height for weeks.

Pretty pathetic, eh?

                   Radishes  Carrots                 Romaine               Spinach            Kale    Chard   Green                                                                                                                                                          Beans

Eight weeks ago, I went to the agro store in Jinotepe to buy some fertilizer. "Do you have any diez diez diez (ten-ten-ten)?" I asked. "Quince, quince quince (15-15-15)," was the answer. So that's what I bought. I also started a compost pile for kitchen and lawn waste.

The first five pounds of fertilizer having been used when I dug the garden, I found 10-10-10 at the vet's, of all places, and bought some. And today, I dug into the compost and found some lovely black soil under the past few weeks' worth of gunk, which I shoveled out and mixed into the chard row, newly replanted. I shall watch and see if my work made any difference. I do recall reading that planting green beans adds an enzyme, something magical, to soil, and I wonder if I should have simply planted the whole garden with them from the outset. The soil may be pretty poor, as it has never been tilled or amended to my knowledge.

I had a fabulous garden when I lived in the country for three years when Gabe was in grade school. I had cauliflower to die for, and big juicy cabbages and broccoli. This wimpy excuse for a garden is discouraging. Well, I'll keep at it.

My zinnias are attracting scads of butterflies. I wonder if they have ever seen them before? And the nasturtiums I put in the same bed are coming up nicely.

This monstrous squash is a volunteer that has taken over a swath of sward next to an old chicken shed by the wall. It should have fruit the size of pumpkins, and if any succeed, I'll be happy to harvest them. Here's another look:

What does the squash know that I don't?