A boom year for the garden

So far this is turning out to be a boom year for the garden.  Everything is growing like crazy.  In part this might be because we amended the soil by adding compost and manure before we planted while we were tilling the soil.  I think it may be either the weather or the amount of pollen that was in the air this year as well.  Even the fruit trees and blueberry bushes are putting out way more than they did last year and I don't really know why.  Last year the peach tree had maybe twenty to thirty peaches, most of which were eaten by deer, this year there is at least a hundred maybe a hundred and fifty.  The girls and I picked cucumbers and green beans for dinner tonight and they ate every bite. 

This is the first of the squash to grow in the girls little garden.  These are the biggest plants out of everything we planted.  This area that had a large chicken tractor over it for months is well fertilized and doesn't have to many weeds.  By planting everything close together the veggie plants have choked out a good portion of the weeds.  This seems to be working so well that I am planning on moving chicken tractors onto areas I want to garden and letting the chickens eat everything inside before using it as a growing area.

Last year our tomatoes were devastated by bugs.  The little bastards made me so mad I could scream.  So far I have only seen a few and I am trying to catch one so I can show it to the extension agent.  I am hoping she will have a good suggestion as to how to get rid of these things with out using to much DDT.  Watching a small crop get torn up blows big time.  This year we have eighty or so tomato plants so we have even more to lose.  Between some new tomato cages, the starter plants, and compost I figure we have about two hundred bucks invested in the tomatoes.  I never liked gambling in Vegas because after I lost a hundred bucks I wanted to kick myself.  I certainly don't want to lose money, time and hard work.  That is the real difference  between a farm and garden, accounting.  I am not a the point yet a which I am trying to make money, but I at least want to break even while providing healthy food for the kiddo's.