This year my garden was seriously struggling. Not only due to record temperatures, but also a drought and a pregnant gardener that couldn't weed properly or remember to water. Plus, the whole area was trampled through with construction workers for 2.5 months.
What I will plant again:
Sungold tomatoes- I didn't get the intense harvest like I did last year, but they were still quite reliable. And, of course, they are delicious.
Stupice tomatoes- This gave me my first tomato of the season. However, it's a colder region variety and wasn't too keen on the number of 90*F days this summer. I'll plant it again for early tomatoes and replace it when it gets hot.
Swiss chard- Most of my Swiss chard seedlings got taken by birds for nests. However, what didn't get taken survive without water and care (the cucumber vines started to wrap around them). That makes it a winner for me! The downside is that they were shaded by the tomatoes and only 2 survived so I didn't really get much in the way of a harvest.
Arugula- This did super well in pots.
Edmonson pickling cucumbers- These were...prolific. And that's putting it nicely. They climbed up our fence and into our neighbor's crepe myrtle. They climbed across the garden and into the netting of the blueberries. The vines were so dense that I missed several cucumbers resulting in inedible mammoths. Thus, while I'll plant these again, I will definitely come up with a better trellis.
Kung pao peppers- This was a bumper year for these peppers. They are the perfect spiciness level for me. I'll definitely grow these next year but just 1 plant as we are drying plenty for a 2 year supply.
Zucchini- Only one plant actually produced zucchinis but I like to think the other ones were instrumental in the pollination! Plus, they did reasonably well in the shadiest part of the garden.
Ground cherries- I netted these this year and got probably 2-3 pints worth of them out of 2 plants. I do need to do a better job of eating them up, though!
What is on probation (aka if it doesn't do well next year, it's banished from the garden!):
Carrots- The ones I put in pots did reasonably well (but didn't get very big at all), but the ones I put in the ground did not work at all. Poor germination (even though I watered!). I planted several kinds: Kaleidoscope, Nantes and a round one I forget the name...
Ping and Black Egg Eggplant- These were late bloomers in the garden. First they were attacked by something and then they were just sloooooooowww to do anything. With a small garden, I need vegetables to put out or go home!
Garlic- I really love the garlic scapes the hardneck garlic produced but overall the bulbs and cloves weren't very big. I'm going to get some garlic from the farmer's market & plant that along with the biggest 2 heads my garlic produced.
Strawberries- This year construction blocked the strawberry bed, but overall the chipmunks get to the berries before I do. With space at a premium, I'm giving these guys 1 more year to impress me.
Tequila sunrise peppers- I think I may have messed up on the germination of these so I'll give them another year.
What I won't plant again:
Mexican Sour Gherkins- These did well before the pickling cukes took over, but they just weren't useful enough for me to plant again. They taste good, but I could only think to use them in salads.
Thai dragon peppers- These also did OK in the garden, but the kung pao just did better in terms of yield and flavor.
Sheboygan tomatoes- I don't know what happened, but these just up & died. Could have been a fungus or a pest, I guess. Whatever it was, I don't want anything that needs coddling in my garden.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
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I planted carrots for the first time too and had similar results. The ones in the ground were worthless and the ones in the pots did well but were small. I must say they were delicious though and some of the best carrots I've ever eaten. I'm going to try again next year and see if I can improve upon the results from this year.
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