2015 - How Does Your Garden Grow?

[Watchman]

This year, come hell, high water, earthquake, or Yellowstone eruption, we are having a garden. Let's start it off with a news item about unusual heirloom vegetables - http://gardening.about.com/od/heirloomv ... nalNonHero

[Toepopper]

After all the work I invested in this years garden the results are not up to parr. The unusual hot spells we have had literally baked the fruits and veggies before they had a chance to fully develope. Our normal temperatures are 82 but this year its been over 100 almost every day. The cukes suffered the most with 80% of them cooked on the vine and the leaves of the green beans are scorched brown with very few beans. I planted 2 packages of carrots, none germinated out of the first envelope so I re-planted and only 12 carrots came up. The tomato plants are alright and we have been harvesting nice tomato's for the last week. Peas, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce and broccoli are all done along with red raspberries and the black rasberries are almost done producing. Potatoes are being dug up today and mellons are just now forming. The weatherman has predicted clouds with dry lightening and normal temps this week so hopefully this will rejuvinate the plants and maybe help produce more of a crop.

[knobster]

Always a great idea to lay in a garden. Even a bad year gardening means knowledge was 'harvested'.

Our garden this year was mixed. Cool summer yielded plenty of peas and strawberries but the tomatoes and green peppers were nothing to brag about. Tried watermelon and cantaloupe but again, nothing much gained. Potatoes did well and the carrots look awesome. As soon as the first frost hits we'll dig those up.

[Watchman]

Way to go! After 30+ years of gardening I have become convinced that there is no such thing as a "bad" year, maybe less than good. My opinion is that even though a garden may not produce like you might want it to, everything you learn will insure success in the future. I try to keep notes on every thing I plant so that I don't make the same mistakes again. The last time we were able to have a garden (because of other commitments) we planted about 15 pounds of Yukon Gold seed potatoes and gathered in about 200 pounds at harvest which we promptly canned - and still have some. You can't go wrong, no matter the level of success. Getting in the dirt is good for the soul.

[Toepopper]

I planted something new in my garden last year, gooseberries. Planted 6 plants that took off like weeds and this summer saw so many berries we couldn't eat them all. These berries are high in vitamins and have a tart flavor to them, they are easy to grow and can tolerate hot weather. The berries are ready to pick in June.
I had a problem with several packages of storebought organic seeds this year. Kentucky Blue bush beans and pole beans, the seeds looked like they were a few years old but came in a package marked 2015. They were slow to sprout and many did not sprout so I planted a second phase. On top of poor seed the record heat this summer shriveled up most of the plants and actually cooked beans right on the vine. Same with the cucumbers, they got baked before maturity this year. I hate to do all that work and waste so much precious water and get no return for my efforts. Everything else did fine and we still pick tomato's every day.

[Watchman]

Toepopper: I remember reading a long time ago that gooseberries were considered as an "invasive" species and a lot of states prohibit their planting. Have you ever heard that? That is one thing I can say I have never tried.

[Toepopper]

No, thats news to me. Gooseberries originally came from England and were planted by the first settlers because they grow like weeds and can tolerate just about any soil or weather conditions. I know Idaho has passed laws to erradicate non native plant species and prevent planting of anything not originally found in Idaho. Oregon is developing new types of gooseberries at OSU and are marketing one called the Oregon Champ which produces thick clusters of large berries. Its a good survival food type of plant.

[knobster]

This year was my first time planting a second batch of sugar snap peas. They are growing nicely and we enjoyed a handful last night. I've read they'll even survive a light frost which means I'll (hopefully) have a couple more weeks of enjoying the bounty.

The cooler weather is sweetening the carrots nicely. They grow huge in black Iowa soil so usually one carrot is consumed each night by the family.

[Toepopper]

Yup, peas can take the frost. I start mine in February but as soon as the weather gets hot they quit producing and die. I have never done a second crop because its so warm here during the fall, 93 degrees last Monday. I start all the cool weather crops in February, peas, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli and they can withstand temperatures down to 27 degrees with no bad effects. Doing this also spreads out the time and labor so your not as rushed to get the other crops in the ground.

[knobster]

Retired the 2015 garden this past weekend. Cleaned everything out, chopped and mashed the plants, added a few small twigs and dumped everything into the composter.

It was a mixed year. Carrots did really well since I waited until first frost to harvest most of them. Since I use raised garden beds some of them were monstrous. Green peppers were so-so as the summer wasn't quite hot enough for them to produce well. Cauliflower... well, the plant got enormous but no head formed! I must have gotten a mutant seeds...

[Toepopper]

This year there were many reports of headless cauliflower. Mine were supposed to be ready to pick in 72 days according to the label but it took 140 days. I think they are modifying the seed and their experiment didn't work.
I still hve tomato's on the vine but everything else is done. Have been raking up maple leaves and wheeling them into my raised beds and turning them in to break down over the winter. This adds leaf mold to the soil and will help things grow next year. Decided to raise up my potato patch another 6 inches and fill it with good growing dirt and compost to produce larger spuds next year.