I suppose that's almost a wrap.
Aug. 1st, 2010 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meimichanGardening season is almost over, and there have been some successes and some epic, epic failures.
In spite of being told how easy squash and cucumbers are to grow, I failed to keep one plant alive long enough to produce any fruit yet. I have completely and totally failed at all on the cucumbers. I replanted them three times, and the cukes just died each and every time without fail. Some squash plants have made a comeback, and I may yet see fruit from them but I got royally jinxed by my dad on this one. "Oh, cucumbers are really easy to grow! A summer squash is the gift that keeps on giving!" Which...okay, that last one is true, but I had a damn hard time growing or keeping any of them alive. *faceplant*
The carrots and beets. I could not keep up with the weeding and often couldn't even tell the weeds and carrot plants apart, cause I'd never grown them before. Did not really get any carrots. Did all right w/ the radishes earlier on in the season.
The weeds. Oh my god the weeds. Part of it was laziness, a good chunk of it was the weather, and my anemia came back in full force and more often than not leaves me just dragging my dead tired ass. But I was unable to keep up with the weeds. At all. I think they killed all the carrots and beets off, but not the leeks. The tomatoes overpowered them for the most part, but they still have got to go far far away. I need a better method next year. I'm gonna try hay bales. By the metric fuckton.
The weather. There's no control or way around this one. The weather was very good to my tomatoes, but not as great to just about anything else. My low-lying plot was a flooded mud bog anytime it rained. We got record-smashing amounts of rain this year. There were sometimes 2-week periods when I couldn't go to the garden because it was just raining every fucking day! I'm pretty sure the squash and cucumber plants kept drowning because of all the rain, and it's something of a miracle that the beans didn't.
The tomatoes. Probably the main reason I even wanted a garden plot was to grow tomatoes. I started most of them on my windowsill in March before I even knew if I'd get a plot, transplanted them in late May/early June, and they held their own and are now just massive, massive plants doing very well. I did buy a couple from a greenhouse, and let me tell you, you're not supposed to get early girls off of a black cherry plant, but they're not that bad. The rest will likely be in season in a couple of weeks and I will then be drowning in tomatoes and my tiny, tiny kitchen will turn into a processing plant. Salsa, sauce, oven-dried, just canned, and of course sliced and eaten plain...it will all be good. =D
Beans. I have never been a huge bean fan, but I grew them mostly to give them a try. I didn't give the pole varieties enough space or tall enough poles to vine up, and the storms last week actually knocked the whole structure down, but I got it propped back up...I think. The royal burgundy beans for the bushing varieties did great, and the pole varieties did EXCELLENT. I have definitely developed more of a taste for green beans and am planning to grow more next year. I'm likely just going to go for the pole beans though. Done right, they take up less space, you can grow a lot more in the same space, and they produce as long as you keep harvesting(up until the first frost), while the bush beans just produce and then kinda stop. I didn't really grow them for dried beans(which is usually how I take my beans), but the scarlet runner definitely produced some dry beans that remind me mostly of Easter Eggs. Some are just bright freaking pink. Some pods I picked after the storm(where I picked every bean that wasn't tied down just to be safe) were already dry, so I shelled them. I got black beans, blue beans, cowpeas, white beans, and those massive purple/pink beans from the scarlet runner plant. So a lot of them did well. I ended up looking up a recipe for green bean pickles because I had so much, and I've now got 3 jars of hot spicy green bean pickle deliciousness. I should possibly include the peas. They die off fast once it starts getting hot outside, and I think one variety of seeds I planted just didn't grow, but the plants that did grow did rather well, and while cooked and canned peas are made of disgusting, fresh raw peas are TASTY. I would get home and just snack on them, peas and pods. They would be gone in ten minutes. I'm going to grow a fall crop. Hell, I've got the space for it. =P
The leeks. The leeks are a bit overcrowded, and not all of them survived the transplanting (they grow SLOOOOWLY, so they were started on the windowsill in March w/ the tomatoes), but for the most part, I am going to have a lot of potato/leek soup this fall. Actually...I'm making a batch tomorrow with the plants I picked to help thin out the patch. I'm hoping the rest will get a bit bigger, but if not, I'll have smallish leeks I can use.
The surprise:
Whoever had the plot before me planted garlic last fall. It all more or less survived, and I'm going to go harvest it when I get a chance this week-probably tomorrow. Not sure if I'm going to replant it-it'll be in a different location if I do though, it's in the way of my tomatoes at the moment. =P I usually cook from the pre-minced garlic that you can buy in jars, but I've been told that homegrown garlic is something else, so I'm looking forward to giving it a try. I do have a garlic press, but I don't recommend it. Just get a large knife and a cutting board.
For next year...already looking at seeds! =P I'm planning on more tomatoes and beans. I really don't eat leafy greens a whole lot, nor do they store well, so I probably won't grow as much of those, but I would like some. I did love raw peas before the plants died, I'm going to plant more this week with some spinach. I'll probably plant more tomatoes next year, I've got 1.5 rows, I'll probably go for a full 2 rows next year. I didn't have any cherry tomatoes this year(thanks you stupid greenhouse), so I'm going to get some seeds and grow them myself. I like having them to snack on throughout the season. Plus I'll have tried orange, purple, and yellow tomatoes this year, gotta try some more colors! =P Gonna try more on squash and cukes, cause I do wanna try pickling those and I also like them. =P Hoping to get some peppers and eggplants going-my seedlings just didn't do that well, and by the time I thought of transplants, uhh...it was too late. Not sure I'm going to try root vegetables. I don't dislike them, I just like other things more, and I am rubbish at growing them. Depending on how the leeks taste and get used, I'll likely grow those again. Well...I've got plenty of time to worry about it.
In spite of being told how easy squash and cucumbers are to grow, I failed to keep one plant alive long enough to produce any fruit yet. I have completely and totally failed at all on the cucumbers. I replanted them three times, and the cukes just died each and every time without fail. Some squash plants have made a comeback, and I may yet see fruit from them but I got royally jinxed by my dad on this one. "Oh, cucumbers are really easy to grow! A summer squash is the gift that keeps on giving!" Which...okay, that last one is true, but I had a damn hard time growing or keeping any of them alive. *faceplant*
The carrots and beets. I could not keep up with the weeding and often couldn't even tell the weeds and carrot plants apart, cause I'd never grown them before. Did not really get any carrots. Did all right w/ the radishes earlier on in the season.
The weeds. Oh my god the weeds. Part of it was laziness, a good chunk of it was the weather, and my anemia came back in full force and more often than not leaves me just dragging my dead tired ass. But I was unable to keep up with the weeds. At all. I think they killed all the carrots and beets off, but not the leeks. The tomatoes overpowered them for the most part, but they still have got to go far far away. I need a better method next year. I'm gonna try hay bales. By the metric fuckton.
The weather. There's no control or way around this one. The weather was very good to my tomatoes, but not as great to just about anything else. My low-lying plot was a flooded mud bog anytime it rained. We got record-smashing amounts of rain this year. There were sometimes 2-week periods when I couldn't go to the garden because it was just raining every fucking day! I'm pretty sure the squash and cucumber plants kept drowning because of all the rain, and it's something of a miracle that the beans didn't.
The tomatoes. Probably the main reason I even wanted a garden plot was to grow tomatoes. I started most of them on my windowsill in March before I even knew if I'd get a plot, transplanted them in late May/early June, and they held their own and are now just massive, massive plants doing very well. I did buy a couple from a greenhouse, and let me tell you, you're not supposed to get early girls off of a black cherry plant, but they're not that bad. The rest will likely be in season in a couple of weeks and I will then be drowning in tomatoes and my tiny, tiny kitchen will turn into a processing plant. Salsa, sauce, oven-dried, just canned, and of course sliced and eaten plain...it will all be good. =D
Beans. I have never been a huge bean fan, but I grew them mostly to give them a try. I didn't give the pole varieties enough space or tall enough poles to vine up, and the storms last week actually knocked the whole structure down, but I got it propped back up...I think. The royal burgundy beans for the bushing varieties did great, and the pole varieties did EXCELLENT. I have definitely developed more of a taste for green beans and am planning to grow more next year. I'm likely just going to go for the pole beans though. Done right, they take up less space, you can grow a lot more in the same space, and they produce as long as you keep harvesting(up until the first frost), while the bush beans just produce and then kinda stop. I didn't really grow them for dried beans(which is usually how I take my beans), but the scarlet runner definitely produced some dry beans that remind me mostly of Easter Eggs. Some are just bright freaking pink. Some pods I picked after the storm(where I picked every bean that wasn't tied down just to be safe) were already dry, so I shelled them. I got black beans, blue beans, cowpeas, white beans, and those massive purple/pink beans from the scarlet runner plant. So a lot of them did well. I ended up looking up a recipe for green bean pickles because I had so much, and I've now got 3 jars of hot spicy green bean pickle deliciousness. I should possibly include the peas. They die off fast once it starts getting hot outside, and I think one variety of seeds I planted just didn't grow, but the plants that did grow did rather well, and while cooked and canned peas are made of disgusting, fresh raw peas are TASTY. I would get home and just snack on them, peas and pods. They would be gone in ten minutes. I'm going to grow a fall crop. Hell, I've got the space for it. =P
The leeks. The leeks are a bit overcrowded, and not all of them survived the transplanting (they grow SLOOOOWLY, so they were started on the windowsill in March w/ the tomatoes), but for the most part, I am going to have a lot of potato/leek soup this fall. Actually...I'm making a batch tomorrow with the plants I picked to help thin out the patch. I'm hoping the rest will get a bit bigger, but if not, I'll have smallish leeks I can use.
The surprise:
Whoever had the plot before me planted garlic last fall. It all more or less survived, and I'm going to go harvest it when I get a chance this week-probably tomorrow. Not sure if I'm going to replant it-it'll be in a different location if I do though, it's in the way of my tomatoes at the moment. =P I usually cook from the pre-minced garlic that you can buy in jars, but I've been told that homegrown garlic is something else, so I'm looking forward to giving it a try. I do have a garlic press, but I don't recommend it. Just get a large knife and a cutting board.
For next year...already looking at seeds! =P I'm planning on more tomatoes and beans. I really don't eat leafy greens a whole lot, nor do they store well, so I probably won't grow as much of those, but I would like some. I did love raw peas before the plants died, I'm going to plant more this week with some spinach. I'll probably plant more tomatoes next year, I've got 1.5 rows, I'll probably go for a full 2 rows next year. I didn't have any cherry tomatoes this year(thanks you stupid greenhouse), so I'm going to get some seeds and grow them myself. I like having them to snack on throughout the season. Plus I'll have tried orange, purple, and yellow tomatoes this year, gotta try some more colors! =P Gonna try more on squash and cukes, cause I do wanna try pickling those and I also like them. =P Hoping to get some peppers and eggplants going-my seedlings just didn't do that well, and by the time I thought of transplants, uhh...it was too late. Not sure I'm going to try root vegetables. I don't dislike them, I just like other things more, and I am rubbish at growing them. Depending on how the leeks taste and get used, I'll likely grow those again. Well...I've got plenty of time to worry about it.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-02 03:57 am (UTC)Man, I can't wait to get a fall crop going. I'm thinking massive greens. I haven't really considered beyond that at the moment.
Have fun with your goods, girl! Eating what you've grown is SUCH a satisfying feeling. :D Relish it!
no subject
Date: 2010-08-02 04:20 am (UTC)I'm a bit limited by the community gardens operation hours. I'm done there October 15th no matter what the weather's like. But I'll still have my windowsill...ehh...nah, it gets cold there. xD
no subject
Date: 2010-08-02 05:53 am (UTC)Glad to see you've already got it under control.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-02 06:16 am (UTC)Oh, also watching your nerdfoodery or whatever you named it community. ^_^