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Now is the time to reflect back on the last edible garden season to capture what went well and what did not. What you planted too much of and what you didn't plant enough of. Make sure to include the names of varieties that did well and those that didn't so you have them for future reference.
Here are my reflections on this year's garden............
Overall
In general, the garden did pretty good. There were high points and not so great turn outs for the season. Just your typical edible garden season!
The good
The cultivated dandelions, cilantro, sage, rosemary, lettuce, corn salad, sorrel, tarragon, garlic, onions, basil, rosemary, sage, tarragon, spaghetti squash did fabulous!
The okay
The eggplants did pretty well. I planted 2 varieties this year "White Star" and one that is advertised to stay sweet, even in the heat "AO Daimaru". They both did stay sweet even during the sauna summer and early fall. The white eggplant was super attractive to the flea beetles. Insecticidal soap or diatomaceous earth will get them under control. The green beans got ate by the groundhog so we didn't get many for ourselves this year.
The peppers and tomatoes did well. I got a bumper crop of tomatoes this year. The tomatoes and peppers did get fruitworms and stinkbugs in the middle of the summer that I had to use BT on (bacillus thuringiensis) to get rid of them. I will definitely throw away all these plants and not compost to be sure the eggs don't survive through the winter compost pile. Will also clear out the garden and not leave until spring.
The garlic did pretty well. There were some cloves that did not make it; most did. The ones that did gave nice bulbs. I pickled 4 or 5 quarts of garlic. This will be plenty for what we will use. This is my favorite way to preserve garlic as it keeps for years. Quick tip-”peeling” garlic
The chard had something eating on it until the temps chilled down. They have recovered and doing great again. For year round steamed greens, grow chard!
For some reason my chives did not expand much. They are perennials so will come back every year. Add chives to your garden
The bad
So my kale, sprouting broccoli and cabbage all get attacked by pests this year. They are all in the same family. I said I wasn't going to grow any this year to break the cycle, but had some volunteers that I didn't have the heart to yank out. I started spraying with insecticidal soap to get them healthy again. The key to these veggies is to harvest them early in the season before the pests set in. Next year, I will be strong and wait until fall to get them going after the pests have moved on.
The stevia plant I purchased from a local greenhouse got infected with mealybugs. These are common on indoor plants or greenhouse grown plants. They can be treated with alcohol or neem oil. This is one of the risks when purchasing bedding plants that they will have some type of pest that you bring into your own garden. Late in the season, these spread to my potted peppers.
I didn't have the best luck in getting my fall spinach sprouted this fall for winter harvesting. Hopeful the spinach still has time to get going in the portable greenhouse. Otherwise, I'll have a jump start on spring!
The groundhog also feasted on the summer squash so we got very few for ourselves. That was okay as we had a bumper crop last year and still have plenty in the freezer. The vines looked healthy and put on lots of babies for the hungry critter.
I also did not plant okra this year as I have tons left in the freezer.
Tomatoes
I tried some new tomato varieties and also planted my standbys. Most of the new varieties did not pan out the best, but a couple I will add to next year's garden.
-Tried Indigo Pear Drops this year. It has fun colored fruits. The vine grows very tall on its own. I planted late in the season to keep the harvest going through fall. I did get quite a few fruits. If I plant again, I would plant earlier and pinch back the vine to keep it more compact.
-Cherokee Purple did well as usual. Nice slicers. This is one that always does well in our garden. Will keep in the garden next year.
-Italian Red Pear an heirloom paste had a health vine, but ripened late and took a long time. I planted it in full sun this year, but late in the season because the first plant got cut off at the ground by something. This was too late to get many fruits. Next year, I'll plant in full sun again, early in the season and 2 plants instead of just 1. Adding these to sauce makes a smooth, creamy sauce.
-I had Amish Paste in the garden this year. I have tried it before and did not get many from the plant. This time it did well, giving paste tomatoes much sooner than the Italian Red Pear. The Amish Paste fruits are smaller so don't take as long to form. I'll keep it in the garden next year. I try to put at least some paste tomatoes in each bag of sliced tomatoes that I freeze.
-Tried 2 Brandywines this year, the traditional pink and True Black. The True Black did the best of the two.
-Tried Black Krim a second time. It did decent in our garden. The fruits were huge.
-Other new varieties did okay, but will not try them again because they didn't thrive in the garden-Box Car Willie, Costoluto Genovese, and San Marzano.
-I planted a couple of black tomatoes that I had seed for, but was too late in the season to really get going.
-Lastly, I grew Boronia in a pot as it is an heirloom compact type. It did decent until late in the season. Its fruits are more like paste tomatoes.
Next season what I'd like to add to the garden is more meaty medium size chocolate tomato. Typically, smaller tomatoes get started sooner than the large tomatoes.
Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes
Summer and Winter Squash
The summer squash plants did well but the groundhog got all the fruits. I will do these again next year-Early Prolific Straightneck and Cocozelle Zucchini. It is recommended you either wait until the second week of June to plant your squash or do a second round of planting in July to have healthy plants for the entire summer. Will definitely plant both varieties next year and do a second crop mid summer to keep the harvest going.
I planted winter squash this year, spaghetti squash and it did well. The groundhog only got 1 or 2 fruits. I'll add this to the garden for next year.
Everything you need to know to grow squash
Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes
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| Spaghetti squash harvest on hummingbird vine |
The summer squash plants did well but the groundhog got all the fruits. I will do these again next year-Early Prolific Straightneck and Cocozelle Zucchini. It is recommended you either wait until the second week of June to plant your squash or do a second round of planting in July to have healthy plants for the entire summer. Will definitely plant both varieties next year and do a second crop mid summer to keep the harvest going.
I planted winter squash this year, spaghetti squash and it did well. The groundhog only got 1 or 2 fruits. I'll add this to the garden for next year.
Everything you need to know to grow squash
Eggplant
I had 2 potted eggplants going this year.-White Star and AO Daimaru. The white and green both did well. The white varieties typically have the least bitterness, but are very hard to grow from seed. This green one also did not become bitter in the heat. I'll do both again next year. I do also like the taste of Turkish Orange. The flea beetles went to town on it last year and it did not do very well. I may try it again and just be more vigilant on the flea beetles.
Eggplant-add this native from India to your garden
Peppers
I have been able to freeze about a pint of sliced peppers every week. I had 6 sweet pepper plants. I had planted a few seeds from sweet banana peppers I bought at the store that I grew out 2 years ago. They didn't look anything at all like a banana pepper and were smaller than the ones from last year, but they tasted great and did extremely well.
I have been able to freeze about a pint of sliced peppers every week. I had 6 sweet pepper plants. I had planted a few seeds from sweet banana peppers I bought at the store that I grew out 2 years ago. They didn't look anything at all like a banana pepper and were smaller than the ones from last year, but they tasted great and did extremely well.
The Pablano pepper plants did well. I grow those to make chili powder.I have a small hot pepper plant that is ages old, Chiltepin. It took 3 tries, but I was finally able to get it to grow. I have them in a pot that I bring in to overwinter each year. I like putting small hot peppers in my seasoned salt and pickled garlic and wanted to grow my own. They are covered with the tiny hot tots!
The spicy ones I will grow again next year are the Pablanos and Chiltepin. And definitely the sweet peppers from last year's seeds. They did great and were very tasty and prolific.
Peppers are for every taste and garden
Peppers are for every taste and garden
Cucumbers
I planted 3 different varieties of cucumber vines. I got only a few fruits from both the Miniature White and Hmong Red. I got lots from the Jaune Dickfleischige vine. These are huge yellow fruits, if you let them grow, with tough outer skins. The fruits keep for months on the counter. I'll plant a white one and a green variety again next year.
Cucumber info and tips for growing |
| View between the pole beans in the edible garden |
Beans and peas
The pole green beans did great this year, but the groundhog ate them all. I planted purple and green Romano types. The beans and flowers were very pretty. The green Romano are stringless and the purple Romano type had a small string that was easy to remove before freezing. I will definitely keep these (Romano and the purple Blauhilde) in my garden next year..
I planted peas in the pots in the spring. The groundhog ate the vines. Pea vine tips and flowers are tasty. I will grow them again next year. I like snow peas; more veggie for your space since you can eat the entire pod!
I had tried three pole storage beans this year-Portal Jade, Good Mother Stollard and King of the Garden lima beans. The Portal Jade and the Lima beans did not produce much. Good Mother Stollard went to town! I got quite a lot from these vines and they are still producing. I think it is fun to have different color and sized beans in the chili I make. I did not do the storage beans again. They don't produce nearly as much for the space as green beans.
Okra
I planted okra for the first time last year and these guys did fabulous. I planted two varieties-Red Burgundy Okra and a green variety. Both did very well. I think I will stick with the Red Burgundy for future gardens or try a dwarf variety for the future. I didn't realize how tall okra gets! Some of these plants grew to 8+ feet tall. They produced all summer long and are still producing and growing in height. They did well enough that I did not need any in this year's garden. I just sliced and froze them. I am planning on using them in soups and roasts. They were pretty tasty just boiled in a pan of chicken broth.
Growing and harvesting okra |
| Our very tall okra last year |
Garlic and onions
The garlic and onions did well this year. The Egyptian walking onions did great! I hardened the garlic on our covered deck. I'll replant the best producing garlic which always includes Elephant garlic. I like to grow the ones with large cloves that are easy to peel. I pickle my garlic so I can use it year round. It has been warm this fall. I'll be planting the cloves soon for next year's harvest.
Everything to know about growing onionsTime to plant garlic! With growing tips......
Herbs
I had a bumper crop of basil this year; most were Holy Basil volunteers from last year's garden. The other herbs did well, too. We have rosemary, tarragon, bay, sage, parsley, chives, and mint. I keep peppermint in a pot so it doesn't take over the garden. The dill went to seed early. I use tarragon in the summer after the cilantro has bolted. It adds a different taste, but is still good. Most of my herbs are perennials. If the rosemary doesn't make it through the winter, I'll replant it again next year. Right now, both rosemary plants-Tuscan Blue and Arp look great. I will always start basil and dill in the spring, along with cilantro if it doesn't come back from seed. Can't have a garden without them. The bay plants I bring in for the winter. They are not hardy in this zone but do fine overwintering in the garage.
Greens
I'll keep the same recipe for greens. I have many perennial greens and self-sowers that give greens pretty well year round. Perennial greens-sorrel, cultivated dandelions, arugula, chard. Perennial veggies in the Midwest garden Self-sowers-corn salad, purslane, cilantro, mustard greens, salad burnet. Try self-seeding veggies and flowers I'll continue to have several types of lettuce and spinach. The standbys are red and green romaine, Red Sails, and some type of buttercrunch. Red and Green Oakleaf used to be a standby as you can harvest individual leaves for salad. They always do well. I hadn't had those recently but sowed them for the winter garden in the mini greenhouse. They have done well through the winter under cover.
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| Zinnias and morning glory in edible fall garden |
Flowers
I always have flowers in the garden. I started gardening with flowers. They are pretty and bring pollinators to your edibles, increasing the harvest. I had a ton of self-seeding zinnias that returned from last year. Most were a fuchsia color. I pulled most of them to space them out in the garden and plant other colors. Will definitely include marigolds. The Hollyhocks I planted this season should return on their own. I love the giant ruby red cock's comb that my dad sent me seeds for. I'll keep them in the garden every year. I had many volunteers in the garden this year. I grew alyssum from seed as I couldn't find any bedding plants. Most came as white. Found the best way to get them going is to just sow in a pot, let them get to a decent size, then transplant into the garden. I'll do red Hummingbird vine, a blue Morning Glory vine, and a white tropical vine like Moonflower. If you want all edibles in your garden, there are many flowers that fit the bill! Flowers that are edible
The garden season is not over yet. There will be much to enjoy through most of the winter. We will have arugula, mustard greens, lettuce, chard, blood veined sorrel, garden sorrel, French and Italian dandelion, spinach, lettuce, purslane, corn salad, chives, parsley, cilantro, celery and sprouting broccoli for salads. The Egyptian onions will produce all through winter. The herbs will be available for harvesting until the snow covers them up.
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