Three years ago, I decided to start a garden. I started out small and each year after that I doubled the length of the garden until it is almost to the edge of the house. Unfortunately, I have a problem. I am pretty good at starting the plants in the garden. But I am not so good at eating all of the fruits of my labor. So, in effect, the garden goes to seed. This is what happens when lettuce plants go to seed and then die off. Now my once bare plot is full of lettuce. This time, I dug them out before they went to seed again.

My next problem was the fact that I planted a peppermint in the ground. Little did I realize what a problem it has become. Left unchecked, it grew like a weed and took over the entire plot. So, at the end of the year, I would dig up the garden and try to eradicate it. Unfortunately, some survived and resumed its goal to take over the world. Now, during year 3, it is starting to escape under my St. Augustine sod.

My current dilema is what to do with the garden. I should have not put it next to the house as I want to spray for ants and termites. So I am thinking about converting it into a bed for other plants. What I really should have done was to not sod in the back yard. I never use it except for watering, fertilizing, and mowing it. It is just a chore. I should have used the entire back yard as one big garden. Perhaps for the next house…