Throwback Thursday: Hello, Ladies

My garden is coming along, not as well as I might have hoped, but, well enough that I can realistically expect to harvest something in the very near future.

I have given a lot of thought to the conditions in the garden, specifically, to how conditions have changed in the years that I have been planting there, and, I have reached a few conclusions:

1.  The soil is not as rich as it used to be; it is possible that additional soil will need to be trucked in to enrich things, accordingly.

2.  I plant in a different configuration than I used to; deep farrows vs. planting on a level surface.

3.  I used to irrigate by filling the farrows and now I water from above. Maybe the water isn't penetrating the soil as well as it should?

Most importantly,

4.  Bugs. Specifically, Lady Bugs. I used to purchase and release thousands of the critters. They kept the pest population down and aided in pollination, which resulted in healthier harvest yields.

Also?

I loved watching the kids release the bugs.

I think it would be a good idea to bring back the Lady Bugs; the garden would benefit and it would give me another opportunity to spend time with my kids in the garden.

Oh, who, am I kidding? The kids don't have time for Lady Bugs or for playing in the dirt in the garden. They are beyond the time when spending hours discovering interesting insects (Queen B was fascinated by Praying Mantises...Manti? I have no idea how to plural Praying Mantis, my bad) and searching out frogs was considered high entertainment; I have to face the fact that I am on my own in the pursuit of the perfect homegrown salad.

I'm grateful for the memories, though.