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Sunday, October 7, 2012
Veggie Garden 2012 Recap
It's October, and the time has come to put the garden to bed, and review the year. For being my first "real" try I am quite proud. There are things, however, that need done differently. I have already done a post about a new layout/design so I'll try to leave that alone and focus mostly on plants but a little on soil.
Soil: I did about a 50:50 mix of mushroom compost and horse manure in sawdust, that came out 6-8" deep. Spread on top of about 4" baled field hay (weeds and all!) and two layers of cardboard. Assuming at some point I will build on the ground again... I'll need WAY more cardboard spread on top of tilled sod, and skip the nasty hay. If I could get clean straw, that would be ok, but the compost/manure mix worked much better than I expected and didn't need any assistance. After reading on the Square Foot Gardening system, I couldn't really wrap my head around not needing at least a foot of soil to feed my produce. Now I can; you don't need it. You just need it to be nutrient rich for about six inches.
Plants: There were some shining stars in the plant world, and some total duds. Lets get the duds out of the way because they're depressing.
The worst thing this year was my heirloom Mortgage Lifter tomato. Maybe they were too close to the ant nest, but almost every single fruit had bug holes. The ones three feet up fared ok as far as bugs, but they still rotted out on the bottom before the tops even ripened. They have a tendency toward being kidney bean shaped which makes it difficult to get hold of the stem, and to peel them. The stem doesn't help matters by not wanting to let go. Ever. I lost at least two thirds of the overall production.
Cabbage was second runner up for worst crop. They grew great big leaves but never turned into a head, then got some sort of bug and I pulled them. The only reason they aren't the worst, is because they didn't tease me all season.
Herbs also didn't do well. I couldn't get a green onion to grow to save my life, despite three attempts (the seed was old and maybe heat abused so it may not be my fault?). I had one little parsley plant pop up, go to seed and get run over by butternuts. I harvested maybe a quarter cup of cilantro before it bolted. It subsequently got run over by canteloupe so I couldn't even get hold of the coriander seed. Dill did nothing whatsoever. Basil was maybe the star of the herbs but I discovered I don't really have a good use for it. By the time the tomatoes are ready for italian sauce, the basil had not only bolted but had nearly mature seed on it. blech.
Hot peppers might have done alright if I had started seed in May or early June and transplanted on July 4. They were too weak to handle any spring chills and died off. Purchased jalapeno seedlings produced well despite being stunted early on. In the future, I think I'd like to do plenty of peppers but not all so hot. I can only stand about one japaeno in a giant meal for two. Banana or other mild pepper we could throw in everything.
Ok, now the good stuff! The absolute star of the whole season was Sweet Mojo tomato. It's a cherry sized tomato that looks like a micro Roma. It's so meaty and sweeter than either the Sweet 100 or the Sweet Million. I was concerned because it actually got less than three inches of compost mix, a heavy dose of weedy hay and was closest to a shading fence. It managed to spread over four feet in either direction, make the tomato cage top heavy and was so prolific in its production I could almost have gotten all my tomato needs from the one plant! Amazing. I will try to save seed, but will most assuredly be growing this again no matter how I have to get it.
Kale was also a super-star. It produced very well in the spring, slowed a little during the heat but sprung right back as soon as it dropped below 90. We wound up needing to harvest into a milk crate, about once every two weeks.
I keep forgetting about it, but the canteloupe did pretty darn well. We got 10 smallish fruits, from four plants that took up only a little more than their designated 4x4 (6) plot. Ten is pretty good. They just didn't do anything until late in the season, and we harvested only yesterday.
Things I'll need to know and remember going forward.... Support, Support, SUPPORT!!! I did a really bad job getting plants the support they needed. I didn't do enough research and fell way behind. If I put something in, I need to provide at least a cheap tomato cage for it as soon as it hits the dirt. I can always take the darn things out if they don't get used, but even the zucchini, which doesn't climb, would probably have appreciated having something to lean against when it had four pounds of fruit hanging on.
If it looks like it might possibly be squash-like... trellis, stake, cage, and control it. I think there's a reason we grow so much from this family. It's hard to not feel empowered by that much growth. I had butternut vines over 14 feet from where they started (and belonged). Cucumber plants nearly took out a young birch tree, and late-seeded pumpkins still almost ran over the jalapenos.
When in doubt, plant later than earlier. On a whim I put two pumpkin seeds in the ground in late June or early July. I didn't get fantastic production, but I'm looking at probably a thirty pound warty pumpkin, and a couple more about bowling ball sized. Jack-o-Lanterns I planted in late July, however, were just setting fruit this week and would never have matured so they got pulled.
Do not, ever, plant six tomato plants in a 2x6 bed. EVER. It's dumb, and wasteful, and inhibits production. Even if I hadn't been late with supporting them, I don't think they would have done great. There's so much foliage that water can't get to the soil, and sun can't get to the fruit. It's especially sad since these were my Romas and the other six were in partial shade and didn't hardly produce anything. Don't get me wrong, I have more than I can really handle, but I could have easily doubled my production if I had spread them out. One plant per 2x2 and a tall, sturdy cage is plenty. A person has to get her hands in there to pick afterall!
I also crowded my zucchini. I did 15 seeds (100% germination!!) in a 3x5 bed. at least four of them never saw daylight, or had fruit mature because they crowded each other out. I could have done six plants in that space and had nearly the same production.
What else didn't I mention? Oh, bush beans and snap peas! Both were in the same boat. I forgot to support them in time, which resulted in my missing some of the production. Both also produced suddenly then pretty much stopped. I still have a few bush beans out there but only because I'm trying to save seed. They're producing new beans occasionally, but not enough to do anything with. Spinach was respectable while it lasted, but it was a very short stint before it bolted. I could probably start another round about now and get a good couple meals before cold weather turned them to mush. Lettuce did a little better, especially the mesclun mix. I think if I was going to buy another mix, though, I would get one that didn't have the purple kale in it. It's ok, just not lettuce and I so love my curly kale.
All in all, a good learning experience. I need to work on tracking the growth patterns when we grow in Indiana, so I can do a better job rotating crops. I think peppers can go in where peas come out, and cool weather things like spinach and lettuce can go between zucchini plants when they begin to decline. Other than that... no clue!
Soil: I did about a 50:50 mix of mushroom compost and horse manure in sawdust, that came out 6-8" deep. Spread on top of about 4" baled field hay (weeds and all!) and two layers of cardboard. Assuming at some point I will build on the ground again... I'll need WAY more cardboard spread on top of tilled sod, and skip the nasty hay. If I could get clean straw, that would be ok, but the compost/manure mix worked much better than I expected and didn't need any assistance. After reading on the Square Foot Gardening system, I couldn't really wrap my head around not needing at least a foot of soil to feed my produce. Now I can; you don't need it. You just need it to be nutrient rich for about six inches.
Plants: There were some shining stars in the plant world, and some total duds. Lets get the duds out of the way because they're depressing.
The worst thing this year was my heirloom Mortgage Lifter tomato. Maybe they were too close to the ant nest, but almost every single fruit had bug holes. The ones three feet up fared ok as far as bugs, but they still rotted out on the bottom before the tops even ripened. They have a tendency toward being kidney bean shaped which makes it difficult to get hold of the stem, and to peel them. The stem doesn't help matters by not wanting to let go. Ever. I lost at least two thirds of the overall production.
Cabbage was second runner up for worst crop. They grew great big leaves but never turned into a head, then got some sort of bug and I pulled them. The only reason they aren't the worst, is because they didn't tease me all season.
Herbs also didn't do well. I couldn't get a green onion to grow to save my life, despite three attempts (the seed was old and maybe heat abused so it may not be my fault?). I had one little parsley plant pop up, go to seed and get run over by butternuts. I harvested maybe a quarter cup of cilantro before it bolted. It subsequently got run over by canteloupe so I couldn't even get hold of the coriander seed. Dill did nothing whatsoever. Basil was maybe the star of the herbs but I discovered I don't really have a good use for it. By the time the tomatoes are ready for italian sauce, the basil had not only bolted but had nearly mature seed on it. blech.
Hot peppers might have done alright if I had started seed in May or early June and transplanted on July 4. They were too weak to handle any spring chills and died off. Purchased jalapeno seedlings produced well despite being stunted early on. In the future, I think I'd like to do plenty of peppers but not all so hot. I can only stand about one japaeno in a giant meal for two. Banana or other mild pepper we could throw in everything.
Ok, now the good stuff! The absolute star of the whole season was Sweet Mojo tomato. It's a cherry sized tomato that looks like a micro Roma. It's so meaty and sweeter than either the Sweet 100 or the Sweet Million. I was concerned because it actually got less than three inches of compost mix, a heavy dose of weedy hay and was closest to a shading fence. It managed to spread over four feet in either direction, make the tomato cage top heavy and was so prolific in its production I could almost have gotten all my tomato needs from the one plant! Amazing. I will try to save seed, but will most assuredly be growing this again no matter how I have to get it.
Kale was also a super-star. It produced very well in the spring, slowed a little during the heat but sprung right back as soon as it dropped below 90. We wound up needing to harvest into a milk crate, about once every two weeks.
I keep forgetting about it, but the canteloupe did pretty darn well. We got 10 smallish fruits, from four plants that took up only a little more than their designated 4x4 (6) plot. Ten is pretty good. They just didn't do anything until late in the season, and we harvested only yesterday.
Things I'll need to know and remember going forward.... Support, Support, SUPPORT!!! I did a really bad job getting plants the support they needed. I didn't do enough research and fell way behind. If I put something in, I need to provide at least a cheap tomato cage for it as soon as it hits the dirt. I can always take the darn things out if they don't get used, but even the zucchini, which doesn't climb, would probably have appreciated having something to lean against when it had four pounds of fruit hanging on.
If it looks like it might possibly be squash-like... trellis, stake, cage, and control it. I think there's a reason we grow so much from this family. It's hard to not feel empowered by that much growth. I had butternut vines over 14 feet from where they started (and belonged). Cucumber plants nearly took out a young birch tree, and late-seeded pumpkins still almost ran over the jalapenos.
When in doubt, plant later than earlier. On a whim I put two pumpkin seeds in the ground in late June or early July. I didn't get fantastic production, but I'm looking at probably a thirty pound warty pumpkin, and a couple more about bowling ball sized. Jack-o-Lanterns I planted in late July, however, were just setting fruit this week and would never have matured so they got pulled.
Do not, ever, plant six tomato plants in a 2x6 bed. EVER. It's dumb, and wasteful, and inhibits production. Even if I hadn't been late with supporting them, I don't think they would have done great. There's so much foliage that water can't get to the soil, and sun can't get to the fruit. It's especially sad since these were my Romas and the other six were in partial shade and didn't hardly produce anything. Don't get me wrong, I have more than I can really handle, but I could have easily doubled my production if I had spread them out. One plant per 2x2 and a tall, sturdy cage is plenty. A person has to get her hands in there to pick afterall!
I also crowded my zucchini. I did 15 seeds (100% germination!!) in a 3x5 bed. at least four of them never saw daylight, or had fruit mature because they crowded each other out. I could have done six plants in that space and had nearly the same production.
What else didn't I mention? Oh, bush beans and snap peas! Both were in the same boat. I forgot to support them in time, which resulted in my missing some of the production. Both also produced suddenly then pretty much stopped. I still have a few bush beans out there but only because I'm trying to save seed. They're producing new beans occasionally, but not enough to do anything with. Spinach was respectable while it lasted, but it was a very short stint before it bolted. I could probably start another round about now and get a good couple meals before cold weather turned them to mush. Lettuce did a little better, especially the mesclun mix. I think if I was going to buy another mix, though, I would get one that didn't have the purple kale in it. It's ok, just not lettuce and I so love my curly kale.
All in all, a good learning experience. I need to work on tracking the growth patterns when we grow in Indiana, so I can do a better job rotating crops. I think peppers can go in where peas come out, and cool weather things like spinach and lettuce can go between zucchini plants when they begin to decline. Other than that... no clue!
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