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Post by gianna on Aug 29, 2023 10:49:14 GMT -5
The season isn't over, but enough time has passed to come to some preliminary conclusions. It's been a good year. Maybe not the best in terms of produce, but in terms of satisfaction and enjoyment, right up there. Maybe unrealistic expectations simply have been numbed over the years.  Critters: There was much carnage from snails in the early stages (30 inches of rain after a drought, and all), but eventually that subsided. Seeds just had to be replanted, and some time was lost. But everything important caught up. Some eating of tomatoes and tomatilloes by bunnies and ground squirrels and probably rats, but not bad enough to trap them. Virtually no gophers. I suspect the neighbors' owls are keeping them down. Maybe snakes too. Veggie highlights: Tomatoes were average, which means more than enough for home use, good flavor, but fewer to give away. Peppers quite nice, fewer this year, but more than enough. Going forward, I do need more variety. Tomatilloes - a satisfying adventure. Kudzu comes to mind. Squash/zucchini - a complete failure. Something keeps eating the leaves, even when fenced (burrowing under is happening). In previous years, never a problem. 'It' seems to be hungry. Fruits: Blueberries and peaches. Successful, esp the low chill yellow peach. Flowers: A real highlight. An absolute delight. The past couple years I've switched more of my gardening enthusiasm to flowers, and that's been successful. Water: After we got lots of rain last winter, I felt free to water more. And I did. And the water bill this past month was unexpectedly double.  Must adjust this strategy. Holy cow. Still in shock. I also wanted to eliminate the obligation of hand watering large pots with water hungry plants, and that happened.  I still water seedlings and a few smaller things by hand, but that is not a problem when they are all together. Weeds: After all the rain, a real problem this year. Maybe the drought wasn't all bad. Will practice more prevention this coming rainy season. Seed buying addiction: Alive and well. In conclusion - it's been a good year especially in terms of enjoyment, and there is more to come.  How has your garden year gone? |
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Post by desertwoman on Aug 29, 2023 17:26:07 GMT -5
This has been my worst year ever! The nights stayed in the 40s until late June and then the heatwave hit that kept us all miserable for 5 or so weeks.
At least the flower gardens did well (they have more shade), so I got fed on that level, but if I had had to depend on my veggie garden to sustain us all winter, we would be starving to death.
Garlic did well and the chiles are finally looking good. They're on the small side, but some still have time to grow more before turning from green to red.
Tomatoes are mostly a bust. Two of the six plants have put on some decent growth and have a handful of tomatoes on each plant. A third one is mediocre in size, no tomatoes on it but a couple of flowers, so will leave it. The other four are getting pulled this week.
Beans were a complete bust. Not a single plant made it.
Pumpkins- same thing.
Lettuces did ok but were done way earlier than usual. I have one of each going to seed right now. Am thinking of starting a Fall crop, but I am so discouraged with this year's crops I'm thinking I may just fold things up and put the beds to sleep, early (except for the chiles and 2 or 3 tomatoes)
Will get the garlic planted, as usual in late October or November, after the beds are fed.
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Post by datgirl on Aug 29, 2023 18:43:40 GMT -5
Cucumbers were a bust. I've had maybe 10 to eat this season. Something ate the seedlings twice. Vines are showing lots of flowers now. Green beans were and still are the best. Planted blue lake bush beans and a pole bean volunteer came up in the compost pile, so I have lots of beans.
Tomatoes are so so. The Amish Paste are good, will probably grow them again. Hungarian Heart are huge and tasty, but there is a lot of waste on them. The shoulders are not ripening and rotting, so I have to pick them early and cut a lot off. The only beefsteak I didn't like this year were the Super Beefsteak. The tomatoes got huge, but they were kinda mushy. Just didn't like them. Woods famous Brimmer are ok, Amish Paste are huge and very meaty, will grow them again. Peppers grew like crazy,but weren't what I planted. I have no sweet peppers. The sweet Banana turned out to be Hungarian wax. Poblano are not Poblano peppers, don't know what they are, but there are a lot of them. I have an over abundance of Hungarian Paprika peppers. Cabbage, onions,garlic,zucchini,beets all did excellent. Sunflowers and Hollyhocks were beautiful. Sunflowers still blooming like crazy. Lastly, I have pumpkin vines everywhere. I planted them in a space that I tried corn last year. Lots of pumpkins too.
I think the late spring and then the drought hurt the peach tree. We had nothing like last year. All in all, a good year. My freezer is full and I'm still enjoying the summer until the bitter end.
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Post by emmsmommy on Aug 30, 2023 15:22:39 GMT -5
In the middle of tomato and bean harvest season so still lots of time to try and figure out what worked and what didn't. Definite errors on my part we're not making more of an effort to secure/add more string to the paste tomatoes prior to winds and storms earlier in the month. Doesn't seem to have affected production but it sure is a PITA to harvest. Also in the new garden, I put the paste tomatoes in the same bed that has the bean trellis on one side, thinking I could just slip in behind it and stand on the blocks (with beans growing in them) while I harvest. Well with the job the wind did to my tomatoes, they are leaning into the trellis and it's a bit of a challenge. And speaking of that trellis, I was quite proud of it last year and it served its purpose well. This spring however when I was clearing the rest of the debris off of the twine from last year, a few strands broke at the top. "No big deal" I thought as it would surely suffice until the end of the season. Well I guess I yanked a few of the Trionfo Violetto beans a bit to aggressively and broke two more strands. Tried to grab a few tomatoes this afternoon and sent a noodle bean vine to the ground. Luckily I'm quickly tying them to the nearest string but must remember to be more careful. |
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Post by pondgardener on Aug 30, 2023 19:36:08 GMT -5
Tomatoes Worst year ever! Got a hail storm in June which left gashes in leaves, stems and fruit which invited disease. Did manage to pick a few but not enough to can salsa, rotel or juice. Did freeze a few bags for soup later. So I ended up pulling about 50 plants and getting ready to prepare and plant an early cover crop in the beds. The only plants I have left are some Big Beef which were protected on the side of the patio and a few Indian Stripe that were planted late.
Peppers Bumper crop for Bell, Jalapeño, Cayenne and Santa Fe varieties. We had a relatively cool early June, but when the heat hit in July and August, the plants responded. Habaneros are setting very well and should produce more than I need. Very little rain, so I had to hand water every couple of days. Unfortunately due to the lack of tomatoes, I have been giving away most of the bell peppers, jalapeños and Santa Fe peppers. But I have some happy friends!
Garlic and Onions Both did very well and I have more than I can use, especially not making salsa. I will probably try freezing some chopped onions.
Squash and cucumbers Picking plenty of cukes and giving most of them away, as my wife eats only a couple a day. Planted zucchini late this year, but with the late heat, they went wild. Picking a lot of small ones, which people appreciate more than the baseball bat size. Pumpkin vines are running amok but not a lot of sizable pumpkins to speak of yet. I did manage to make a sizable dent in the cucumber beetle population by applying a little Vaseline to the end of a popsicle stick and looking over all the flowers.
Melons Started out slow but once the heat arrived, they rapidly climbed the trellis and produced quite a few fruits. I haven't tasted any yet but looking forward to cutting open a cold one soon.
Corn First little patch was disappointing with small ears and worms, which I usually don't have problems with. It was a new variety which I will not plant again. Hoping the second patch is better.
Beans Pole beans did fantastic this year and I have canned 35 pints so far besides cooking several meals. The sparrows who had picked off the majority of the blossoms last year were hopefully dispatched by the resident hawk or moved elsewhere. Bush beans are just starting to set and should produce well too.
Sweet potato I had one store bought yam that was leftover from Easter that sprouted, so I planted it in one of the finished compost piles and that plant has sent out shoots covering the entire area and climbing up a support. Maybe I will get a few potatoes later?
Blackberries and Black Raspberries This is the first year for these and I am amazed at how well they are growing. I have been picking a few blackberries every day and from the way the new canes are spreading, I should have a bumper crop next year. The black raspberry plants didn't yield anything but they are sending out runners and filling in a short fence.
Insects I have noticed quite a few more grasshoppers this year but damage was insignificant. There were a few sightings of completely black grasshoppers which was highly unusual. Hopefully that is not a trend. Bees were plentiful this year and were welcome. I have a colony of wasps which took up residence underneath the pergola, but as long as they don't bother me, they are left alone.
Flowers Volunteer petunias took over the bed out front and seem to thrive on little moisture. Four o'clocks around the pond are bursting out colors and I have a few Heavenly Blue morning glories that I am hoping for a few flowers this year. So far nothing but vines...
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Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 2, 2023 0:06:38 GMT -5
Tomatoes - Not the best season for tomatoes; got a number of them early, but some got blight, or some disease, and wiped them out, while those next to them were fine. And even though it hasn't been extremely hot, we had a period where most dropped blossoms, along with the eggplants. No new keepers this season, unless something happens in these last two months. Eggplants - good production early, but the heat made all of them drop blossoms, and took them a while to come back. Maybe one of the greens I'll grow again, but I'll keep looking. Peppers - great production, as always, with a couple keepers - that Maui Purple, since it is like the old one, as an ornamental, but not as hot, and the Datil, which is not the habanero it is described to be, but a delicious tasting, very productive, and almost ornamental pepper, once they started turning yellow. I'll bag a stem, and hopefully save some good seeds from it. The Big Mic was the best producing Numex type - not very large, but I might grow it again. No keeper jalapeños - still looking... Squash - Butternuts incredibly productive, as always. Those bottle gourds didn't do well - I was trying to grow 2 different varieties, but I think they just had different names! Problem is, these seem to have all male blossoms at the same time, and visa-versa. I'm going back to another variety from years ago - smaller, but both flowers frequently. Cucumbers - Not great this season - no keepers in the new varieties. But in July, when I planted later cukes, I planted some County Fair - the ones that did best earlier - and I planted some County Fair Improved, which are growing much better! Since I'll be pinching the shoots off the first 4 sections, I'll try rooting them, and putting them in the 2 areas that the original ones died, and maybe give my friend some extras. Melons - Only tried that Kajari melon - small, honeydew type, which is delicious, but one didn't produce much, while the other was much more productive, so I saved seed from those. The white, or light green, bitter melons did best - the green Shenandoah variety only produced one fruit. My friend also grew 2 types of watermelon, a little late, but they are doing great there. Okra - Big Buck I will probably do again, but that's the only new keeper. Star of David definitely not doing again, due to the spines, not just in the stem. And they didn't produce as much as any others. Little Lucy again most productive, and first to produce, and again, I saved the first 2 okra, and let them get to full size, then dry, and save seeds. No others to cross with this way! The Hill Country Red was good - seems to prefer cooler temps, which is unusual for okra. It is a fat okra, like the Star of David, but no spines on the ribs, just a few on the stem. And one good thing about it is that it breaks off the plant! Almost all others I have to cut them off with some scissors, I keep out front...unless I forget, and walk inside holding it!  beans - I only plant pole beans, mostly long beans, and one keeper I found was the Sweet White, a very light colored variety, that stays firm for over 2' long, like the Thai Red Long bean, the other I've grown for years. The other new long beans - Full #5, and Full #9, and a Hawaiian long bean, all hollowed out and got seeds early. The shorter beans - Rattlesnake, Blauhilde, French Gold, and Fortex, were slowed by the heat, with the rattlesnake coming back sooner. Garlic and Onion Gwrlic did well, as usual, but not great onions of any variety. Shallots did better, but really need planting in fall, it looks like. Greens Nothing new here. I did try some cauliflower and cabbage early, but the usual greens and kohlrabi I grow are going to get started in a week or so. A few lettuce and boc Choy also got started just yesterday, but the rest next weekend.
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Post by ahntjudy on Sept 3, 2023 6:53:30 GMT -5
Sweet potato - I planted it in one of the finished compost piles and that plant has sent out shoots covering the entire area and climbing up a support. Maybe I will get a few potatoes later? If nothing else, I'll bet the growth is quite lovely. |
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Post by Wheelgarden on Sept 4, 2023 14:02:47 GMT -5
It was the best of gardens, it was the worst of gardens in some ways. Tomatoes did very well, lots of BIG Big beefs and more Cherokee Purples than ever. Peppers also were good this year --- Rewia bells, Cayennes, Serranos, and Habaneros were all nice and productive. Beans (Blue Lake bush) came in in a big way, but the successive two beds were overwhelmed by the bean beetles, much to our disappointment. Lettuces, tatsoi and kale went nowhere for some reason. Then, there were the Squash --- Yellow Straightneck, Butternut, Candy Roaster, and Spaghetti suprised me with nice yields (for a change). Asparagus keeps getting better each year, it graced the table and was munched raw often. Blueberries were their usual bounteous selves, but the Strawberries were sparse. Best Garlic ever, 92 plump, spicy bulbs. More Flowers than ever, but I gotsta have more.
Weird, yet mostly favorable weather for the most part.
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Post by gardendmpls on Sept 4, 2023 21:45:46 GMT -5
Great that you got the Candy Roaster. Did real well for us last year, but this year the seedlings vanished.
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Post by Mumsey on Sept 5, 2023 4:32:49 GMT -5
The sweet Banana turned out to be Hungarian wax. Poblano are not Poblano peppers, There must be Pepper Pirates out there. I have a couple plants that aren't what they should be too! |
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Post by Mumsey on Sept 5, 2023 4:35:42 GMT -5
Heavenly Blue morning glories that I am hoping for a few flowers this year. So far nothing but vines... That happened here 2 years in a row, they never did bloom. So quit growing them. And it was from seed that bloomed the previous year.  |
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Post by Mumsey on Sept 5, 2023 4:38:11 GMT -5
more grasshoppers this year Here too. Grasshoppers are more plentiful in dry weather. |
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Post by Mumsey on Sept 5, 2023 4:40:18 GMT -5
pondgardener, I'll bet you will be surprised with some sweet potatoes, they love compost!
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Post by Mumsey on Sept 5, 2023 4:52:21 GMT -5
My list:
Tomatoes: Good but not as productive. Disease just now showing up on some plants. One German Pink seems to be prone to BER.
Onions: OK, not as large as they should be.
Shallots: Good, but never planted them before so nothing to compare to.
Pole Beans: Great, until the JBs moved from the leaves to the beans.
Broccoli: Fall crop is doing great. I don't even bother with early crop anymore due to early bolting.
Cabbage: Awesome!
Chard: Great, until the blister beetles attacked it. Cut it all down, now it's growing back and looks good.
Carrots: So-so. Should have watered them more during germination.
Beets: Awesome!
Potatoes: Good, but leaves attacked by blister beetles.
Asparagus: Average harvest.
Peppers: Once the heat arrived they are bursting. Some are over 4 ft tall and loaded with peppers.
Eggplant: Not happy. 8 plants did not give my Winter's worth of fruit.
Cukes: They won't stop growing! I've made about 17 quarts of pickles!
Squash: Red Kuri has 2 squash, but I planted it late. Honeynut Butternut has 8-10, so good there!
Garlic: Average harvest.
Lettuces: Great, the Summertime actually made heads.
Flowers: Annuals and perennials did their usual thing, bursts of color!
Basil: Took a long time to get going, but is very productive now.
Parsley: Also doing well, going to seed!
Insects: The blister beetle and JBs were my nemesis this year. Seems the JBs don't care if it's drought conditions or not. The blister beetles love drought, as do grasshoppers. Not as many earwigs and slugs.
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Post by martywny on Sept 5, 2023 17:53:38 GMT -5
Summer squash (Early Prolific Straightneck) and zucchini (Dunga F1 OG) – Plants all did well, very prolific, pests were not too bad. We did wrap the bases in foil and plastic cups. Harvest is still ongoing.
Cantaloupe (Sarah’s Choice) – Plants were so-so, we did harvest some good fruit, had some borers later in the season.
Garlic (my own seed) – In general, it grew well, those planted in barrels not as well as raised beds. Had some discolored spots on several cloves, will investigate.
Onions (Patterson) – Planted seed in Feb, fewer plants than last year, did very well.
Shallots – Took a while to get going but all except for two turned into really nice plants. One of the two failures looked like a bowtie.
Green beans (Provider) – Most did well, had a few that looked weak and did not produce well, need to plant more next year.
Wax beans (Golden Wax Improved) – Same as the green ones.
Green (bell) - peppers (California Wonder) – Came in later this year but are good producers.
Lesya peppers (Baker Creek) – Had some soft spots on a few early ones, but decent quantity, size, and flavor.
Jalapeno peppers (Baker Creek Tam Jalapeno) - One last time growing the “no-heat” version and finally determined that someone screwed up the seed packaging or seed production and I got the regular version instead. Good quantities, good heat.
Cukes – Very prolific Corinto F1 OG from Johnny’s, decent flavor. Made lots of bread & butter pickles, skin seems to be a bit tougher than straight 8.
Pickling cukes, (Chicago Pickling) – Okay, not great, going to try another variety next year. Short growing season, they are all dilled and canned.
Corn (Ambrosia & Kandy Korn) – Decent production, good flavor, some very large ears.
Peas (Lilian’s Caseload) – These were unbelievable, extremely prolific, and healthy.
Pumpkin (Champion) – Lots of pie pumpkins, uniform size.
Tomatoes (Big Beef Plus F1, Celebrity Plus F1, Roma, San Marzano) – The harvest varied on where they were planted, how they were trimmed, how they were staked, etc. Did not plant marigolds in with them – that’s a mistake. The Celebrity look great, will give it the official taste test tomorrow before deciding which to freeze–dry.
Brassicas – Cabbage, Kale, Swiss chard, and Bok choy are all doing well under the insect netting, planted those later this year instead of in the spring.
Dill – bouquet dill did great, made some dill pickles with it, froze some.
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Must adjust this strategy. 
I still water seedlings and a few smaller things by hand, but that is not a problem when they are all together. 
