Garden Evaluation: Herbs & Veggies

 

This year my garden was actually all built from the beginning of the season.

It was amazing!

 

Overall, it was a decent year for the garden.

Like usual, some things were winners and some...not so much.

We'll talk about that as we go.

 

youngest son's plot, mid-June

 

The biggest change was allowing my kiddos to have space for gardens of their own.

Although it cut into some of my prime real estate (especially since I gave them the spots on the bottom terrace), it was great fun to see their little plots prospering through the summer.

They seemed to enjoy picking their own veggies and flowers, too.

 

I also tried pea sticks! And pole beans on bamboo supports.

 

So, for a little recap:

 

I got the spring veggies put in late April (4-23), and planted potatoes (including a random sweet potato that was growing leaves in my potato bin), peas, swiss chard, beets, and spinach.

 Onions went in about a month later.

 

Summer veggies were planted earlier than usual, by May 24.

We put in tomatoes, thyme, basil, marigolds, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, mini pumpkins, and three colors of beans. Also, some zinnias.

 

Challenges and Successes:

Bring on the Heat

 

Cukes and zucchini loved the hot weather!

 

We had hot weather come early this year. Where usually it's stays fairly cool until July (temps in the 60's and 70's), it was already blazing hot by mid-June.

All of the spring veggies, with the exception of the potatoes, really suffered from the heat.

Peas did the worst: they were spindly, and didn't even start producing until mid-July. When they did, it was a few pitiful (but delicious) handfuls. They simply wilted!

Beets did better than last year, but still not great. We had some grow bigger this year than before, and had enough for some meals inside, as well as some for making canned pickled beets.

The kids got some spinach and swiss chard from their plots. Mine were only about 3 inches high when they bolted, so I yanked them out and replanted with beans.

 

Also due to the heat, the basil went to seed way early, before I could get out there to harvest it for drying. Surprisingly, the sweet potato didn't do as well as I thought it would, even with the high temps.

 

 

On the plus side: With the heat we had a great year for cucumbers and zucchini, as the picture above can attest. Also, every time I pulled out struggling spring vegetables, I replanted with beans. The beans did great! We harvested enough to eat at meals, and even were able to freeze several quart bags worth.

 

 

The marigolds apparently couldn't get enough of the heat either, as they were vibrantly bushy and gorgeous all summer long, as well.

 

The Great Cosmos Takeover

 

Yup, this is about right.

Be afraid, little pumpkin vine, be very afraid.

 

So, I had all of these volunteer cosmos come up, bless their feathery little hearts.

They pretty much took over the middle terrace. They crowded and shaded the poor pumpkin vines, so that our production was very low: 2 small pumpkins, and about 3 minis.

 

On the plus side: they were so darn beautiful, that I just sighed happily every time I saw them. What pumpkins?  Perhaps next year they could be transplanted to the cutting garden early on...

 

Poor Soil in the Top Bed

 

tomatoes, basil, marigolds

 

I'm blaming it on the newer soil in the top bed, where we planted the tomatoes, basil, and marigolds. When I rototilled in the spring, the layer of clay soil was much closer to the surface than in the other beds. The tomatoes didn't grow very tall, and the fruit was quite small, as well.

Extra compost and rototilling probably need to go onto the top bed next spring.

On the plus side: we did have enough tomatoes to eat fresh, once they started producing

Not enough for salsa or other kinds of processing, though.

 

Trellises and Staking

Okay,  let's talk about trellises and staking for a moment. I had all kinds of variety going on with that this year, some much more successful than others.

I loved the pea sticks. Far easier than stakes and string, and bonus! the aspens shoots I used really were dead, so I did not end up with an aspen grove in my vegetable patch. Also, they just looked pretty darn cool.

 

The stakes and netting for the cucumbers worked okay. There were so many vines, that many of them still ended up running along the ground, but I guess at least some were growing vertically.

 

The bamboo poles for the pole beans were a bust. The beans had absolutely zero interest in climbing them, even when I tried to wrap them [gently] around. I should have just used twine and tied them to it a couple of times, perhaps. Anyway, unsupported, the beans proceeded to take over the tomato cages nearby and make a big tangled mess on the ground. Not awesome.

 

Speaking of tomato cages, they worked fine this year, though it was due to all the plants being so small, rather than any innate goodness.

 

The smaller tomato cages were also helpful around the pepper plants we grew.

Win some, lose some.

 

Best and Worst

 

Best:

 

Onions!

 My reluctance was overcome by this success! Having planted them further apart (more like 6 inches), they grew into big beautiful slicing onions with little to no effort on my part. Even the cosmo jungle didn't seem to effect them. Win!

 

Beans--they sprang up happily wherever I plunked them in, which this year was in any open space I could find.

 

Cucumbers also did quite well this year, with consistent production for a couple of months.

 

Honorable mention: bell peppers

I have never had success with peppers turned red before frost, except for this year. The kids' plants did the best, and we harvested some sweet red peppers to eat fresh.

 

Middle of the road:

Carrots. We got enough to process some for winter, but I kept feeling like for as much seed as we put out there, we should have had a whole lot more carrots to show for it. We did the 'Rainbow Blend' again this year, and mostly got yellows and oranges.

 

Oregano. About what it has been the past several years--we dried about a quart and a half from the trimmings.

 

Potatoes. Seemed healthy, didn't harvest as much as I expected. Hardly any Yukon Golds, which are my favorite kind. Again, maybe the hot summer to blame?

 

Worst:

Peas (as mentioned above). Hardly any harvest.

Spinach. Bolted way early.

Pumpkins (blame it on the cosmos, as discussed)

Sweet potato--we ended up with fingers, not potatoes, though they sure tasted good roasted in the oven.

 

What I want to change for next year: 

 

1. Get the spring vegetables in end of March, beginning of April. It's usually super wet around that time, but find a dry spell somewhere in there, rototill, and get to work! I think my spring stuff would have done fine, had they been already producing in June, rather than still getting going.

 

2. Perhaps not let the volunteer cosmos (if there are some again) take over the whole world. Transplant most down to the cutting garden.

 

3. Heavily amend top bed. [I wonder how onions would do up there?...]

 

4. Perhaps try for corn or lettuce. No pole beans or swiss chard. More onions and tomatoes. Perhaps more cucumbers for pickling.



Canning & Processing Tally

I'm feeling pretty good about my harvesting, processing, and canning this year. We entered summer almost completely out of home-canned fruit and now our shelves are overflowing!

 

I didn't do so hot taking pictures of garden harvest or what I canned this year. I want to do better on that next year.

The oregano and vegetables were all from our garden.

We had 3 different friends offer free cherry picking in July, and I took them all up on the offers!

2 had sweet cherries, and 1 had a pie cherry tree.

Peaches, pears, and apples were purchased.

 

We ended up with:

 

1 1/2 quarts dried oregano

 

23 quarts sweet cherries

2 quart bags chopped frozen sweet cherries

15 cups pie filling (frozen)

12 pints? a bunch of cherry-berry syrup (jam that didn't set--oops!)

 

5 cups raspberry freezer jam--home-picked fruit

 

8 quarts sliced carrots, frozen

 

39 quarts peaches

 

5 quarts green beans, frozen

 

9 pints plum jam

Free plums from behind the elementary school!

 

33 quarts pears

 

41 quarts applesauce

 

6 pints pickled beets

 

I think that will do it for this year, unless I decide to make some more jam--which is tempting.

I want to make some more lemon-ginger marmalade.

 

My care for the vegetable garden and flowers really dropped off in September...along with my blogging. This list is helping me realize why--I was canning everything in sight! Everything from the carrots on down has been done since the last week of August.

(Not to mention school starting, soccer practice, etc., etc.)

 

Let me just say it again.

It's a good feeling to have all that done for the year.

Vegetable Garden Glory Days

 August is high time for the vegetable garden.

Everything is green and lush and billowing.

Also, the gardener is still watering and even weeding, on occasion.

 

Overview

 

This view out my kitchen window every day made me so satisfied.

That's a lot of goodness going on out there.

 

Starting from the top left: 

Basil has gone to seed without me drying any.

However, I was able to freeze some.

Tomatoes producing enough for fresh eating.

 

So many marigolds!

They became a Wall of Cheerfulness that just keeps going and going.

I love it!

 

Not pictured: my pole beans, which did not climb the poles as they were supposed to (even with help from me!)

 

Middle terrace:

 

We've got a few a pumpkins hiding under there: some minis and some just small.

 



 

The cosmo jungle.

You are looking at the reason for such small pumpkins, right here.

I love it so much, I decided to keep it.

There also a few zinnias in there on the left.

Also, there are onions hiding amongst the jungle foliage.

 

Cucumbers still going, but production slowing down.

Zucchini also slowing but going.

 

 Bottom Terrace (minus the kids' gardens):

 

oregano and zinnias

One of these days I'll get a photo that truly represents how many bees are on the oregano when it flowers. Many, many bees. Also, wasps, including these very scary-looking 2-inch long all black ones.

Bean patch.

This is a mixture of purple, yellow wax, and regular green beans.

Good for daily snacking.

 

Yay beans!

Carrots bushing out and looking good.

Sweet potato actually flowering!

It's pretty, and it's huge and bushy.

The rest of the potatoes are about done, but I'm going to wait to harvest them for awhile longer.

We should have at least another month before frost hits.

The Kids' Gardens, Late July

These have been fun for the kids.

When friends come over, they're so proud of their little gardens, and have to show the friends everything they're growing. Warms my heart!

 

My daughter's garden:

The flowers have pretty much taken over here.

Not that she minds.

She does have a few peppers growing in that cage, and a carrot or two in amongst the rest.

 

My oldest son's garden:

Lovely snapdragons, plus potatoes taking over the world, and a few peppers.

He also has a few beans here and there, along with a carrot or two.

 

Youngest son's garden:

Peas gone now, but still some carrots and beets to pull up and snack on.

 

Now that the main garden is producing things there's aren't (especially the beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers), their interest in their own little plots has waned a bit. But they still enjoy going out and seeing what they have growing--and picking things if they can.

Mid-June Vegetable Garden

It's already heating up and the warm-weather crops are starting to come on!

Spring veggies are struggling.

 

Overview.

My daughter's garden.

Oldest son's garden.

We've been harvesting beets, spinach, and swiss chard from the kids' plots.

This oregano has since been chopped back, and the stems/leaves dehydrated.

1 1/2 quarts this time.

spinach, carrots, beets

Our unseasonably hot June has meant that these are struggling.

I did finally put down compost between the rows, which has helped some with water retention in the heat.

Potatoes looking great and starting to flower.

 

Middle Terrace:

These pole peas are also struggling.

My mini pumpkins coming up.

 

Regular pumpkins starting to get some growth, as well.

The feathery plant in the background is a self-seeded cosmo.

 

Onions, more volunteer cosmos, plus a few zinnias just starting to poke through.

 

My youngest son's garden patch:

beets, carrots, and peas, looking bushy and healthy

 

I think the cucumbers are going to love this hot weather!

They're starting to climb the trellis.

 

After getting some new seed from a friend, I finally have a few zucchini growing.

 

 

Top Terrace:

Tomatoes, basil, thyme, and marigolds.

Starting to fill out a little.

 

This is strawberry season, but I have not gotten any pictures of it.

We have not had as good a harvest as last year, but have had some.

A Garden of Their Own

For the first time this year, I gave each of my kids a small piece of the garden to make their own and plant whatever they wanted (with some suggestions.)

We've talked a lot about what size things are supposed to get, and such. We also did some spring vegetables and talked about leaving room for summer stuff.

My two older kids each got roughly a square, around 4'x4', on the bottom terrace. My youngest got a little strip next to the path about 18"x4', up in the middle terrace.

 

It has been really interesting seeing the differences.

My oldest son wanted all edibles. 

 

About a week after he planted it.

One lonely potato shoot coming up and a few miniscule seedlings.

 

Here it is now. A bit more going on.

For spring, he planted 1 row of carrots, 1 row of swiss chard, 1 row of beets, and 1 hill of potatoes.

So far some carrots are up (upper left), his potato is doing awesome, and a few beets and spinach are scattered around. 

 

He left some room for summer stuff, so he recently added the basil, and the 3 sweet peppers surrounded by cages. 

In addition, at a school event he received a few herb seeds, a few cosmos, and 4 garbanzo bean seeds. I didn't show that, but those went in all next to each other right in the front.

He didn't ask for help or advice on that one and I didn't say anything once it was done. I figure he'll be able to see pretty quickly as they come up what the optimal spacing would be next time.

 

There's nothing like just getting your hands in it and trying it for yourself to learn!

 

1 week after planting seeds, flowers just put in

 

My daughter's garden now.

 

My daughter wanted a border of flowers all around hers, so we marked off where that would be with a plank and a trowel. Along the left side, for her flower border, she planted some 'Little Sweetheart' sweet peas, which are only supposed to grow 25-30 inches high. In the top left corner she planted an ornamental grass called Bunny Tails (Lagarus ovatus). I hope this one grows, as she is really looking forward to it!  We took a little trip to the garden center for flowers to fill in around the rest of borders.

She chose petunias, marigolds, portulaca, lobelia, and verbena.

There may or may not be room for vegetables! 

 

A closeup of her carrots and flowers.

 

In the middle of her square she planted 1 row each of carrots (shown above), beets, spinach, and swiss chard. She found some of my bean seed from last year and planted a few of those amongst her flower border, as well.

 

With what little room she had left, she put in 1 basil plant and 1 pepper.

 

I wasn't originally going to do a separate garden for my littlest guy, but after he saw what his older siblings were doing he insisted! I couldn't resist that.

So he got a long skinny patch, all right next to our little walkway in the middle terrace, for easy access.

 

Youngest son's garden (bottom of the picture)

We kept it simple for his.

He wanted all things to eat, like his big brother.

So we planted one section peas, one of carrots, and one of beets.

 

Here's a closeup of his peas, which are doing great!

He's very excited about his little garden and wants to water it all by himself.

I think he'll be even more thrilled when it produces food that he can actually pick and eat!

 

I think they're all planning to put in beans once some of their summer stuff is finished.

Maybe we'll actually get enough beans in the house to eat as a meal this year!

 

I'll admit it was a little bit hard to give up some of  my garden space, at first.

This has been great, though!

There have been so many teaching moments as we've talked about what to plant, when, where, how far apart, and all of that.  There will be many more learning experiences as everything continues to grow, including the weeds.

 

I've been doing what I can to help keep things watered, and if not weed-free, at least getting the big stuff. I really want this to be a successful venture for them.

It is heart-warming to hear them talk about their gardens, and show their friends who come over.

Vegetable Garden Update

 

Finished planting vegetables yesterday.

It's about a week ahead of when I usually do it, but we've had such a warm spring, I think it'll be fine.

I've got some new things I'm trying this year, and plenty of old favorites.

 

Overview

The right-side of the bottom terrace are my 2 oldest kids' garden.

They deserve a separate post, which is coming soon!

 

spring veggies (& oregano!)

So you can see my spring stuff is up but most of it is still very very small, with the exception of the potatoes.

 

 

Here are my 'Green Arrow' peas.

They must have gotten washed under the oregano a bit; I know I didn't plant them that close!

 

I didn't take a picture of the middle stuff--the swiss chard, carrots, beets, and spinach.

They're still so small I don't think they would show up very well on camera yet.

 



potato patch

 

These lovely beauties are doing grand.

They doubled in size with the rain yesterday.

 

This just came up within the last few days.

Can you guess what it is?

I had forgotten I had planted it.

I stared at it for at least 5 minutes trying to figure out what it could be.

The leaves are so different, but I know it's not a weed....

It's a sweet potato!

There was one from the grocery store that was practically growing leaves in the potato bin in the kitchen, so I plopped into the ground on a whim.

Here she comes!

I'm super excited about it, actually.

 

Middle terrace

 

sugar snap pole peas + pea sticks!

These are doing the best out of all the spring stuff so far!

Look at them go!

 

I just planted some bush beans along in front of them.

Next down on this terrace (not pictured because it's still just dirt right now), I put in 9 mini pumpkins around the legs of a tomato cage, "pumpkin on a stick," and one hill of jack-o-lantern pumpkins with plenty of space on either side to ramble.

I'll let you know how the tomato cage trellising works out.

Then come the onions, also not pictured, and I planted 'Cut and Come Again' zinnias between the onions and the little walkway.

Ok, here what's next:

 

Adam's garden in front, plus burpless cucumbers along the trellis, and one mound for zucchini in the back to finish off the terrace.

 Top Terrace

 

The berries will get their own update, so here's what we planted over the last couple of days:

 

View towards the neighbor's

 

pole beans 'Kentucky Wonder'

common thyme: Thymus vulgaris

Italian basil

marigolds

5 Cougar Red tomatoes

2 Sun Sugar tomatoes (both looking very sad and droopy at the moment) 

 

view towards the strawberries

 

I think I've got more types of staking and trellising this year than I've ever had!

The pole beans are a new one to try. I grew them once in Missouri, but haven't ever done them here.

The bamboo poles were 8 feet long, so probably about 7' now that that they're in the ground. I hope that's tall enough!

 

My plan for the herbs is to dry them and perhaps make our own Italian seasoning at the end of the summer. Our oregano is so prolific, we need to do something with it!