The dog, cat and husband ate my garden.

Like most Americans these days, Husband and I have cut back to a more conservative spending lifestyle. I don't think that it's a bad thing and this period of budgetary evaluation is helping us pay down debt and identify some of the needless spending that we do.

The garden was never one of those areas that was up for cutbacks - that is, until our beloved Muttley started having seizures. Then George the Cat had kidney stones. Then Husband needed his wisdom teeth out. All in the same week. Yeah, it was a little bit busy.

We are responsible enough as consumers that none of these setbacks are going to break us, but we decided that it would be financially irresponsible to leave these things on credit for any length. I feel positive about that decision, but it comes at a rough time for the garden. I have already cut back on a handful of vegetables and now, to make sure we don't go broke installing this new garden, I've had to make some deeper cuts.

I've replotted this garden about four times now. As you can see, it has become quite a project and when my projects become complicated, the area I need to figure them out gets pretty large. I brought out the battlemat that we use for D&D Tuesdays and turned it into my Team Play Board, figuring out what will fit, what I have to have and what can be axed until another year. I should have my final picks by tomorrow, but as of right now the following vegetables have not made the cut:

Turnip and Parsnips - I'm the only one in the family that really likes these. They'll make it onto the list again sometime, but not this year.

Cauliflower, Romanesco and Eggplant - I'm pretty bummed about these three. I've never grown them and was looking forward to the challenge. While there are still new plants in the scheme, these three will have to wait until next year.

Potato - While the Great Potato Experiment was fun and the potatoes were very tasty, these are getting the axe this year because it's just too much of an expense with the other things we need to do. I live in Maine. Potatoes are cheap and local. Simple math, if you ask me.

Beets - My folks are expanding their vegetable garden this year. I'm hoping I can steal some of theirs.

Fava beans and Pole beans - I'm growing bush beans, so we won't be completely bean free. I need to see how much space the bush beans are going to take before I start adding giant trellises of beany goodness to the mix. Fava beans were definitely an exotic luxury.

Before you feel bad about what I'm not growing, I say maybe a little financial restraint isn't such a bad thing. I'm really starting from scratch with new beds, new soil, new compost, new fences and yes, even some new plants. That's a lot of new to worry about already, nevermind the three other kinds of peppers, the two varieties of onions and the cantaloupes that got cut in the first round. Perhaps the recession will lead me to some much needed garden restraint which could lead to the best crop of veggies yet.

That would make this a very rich year indeed.