2010 Garden Wrap-up: Lessons Learned

• Eggplant – Skip the standard eggplant and plant three Japanese-type. Ichiban worked really well for us.
• Tomatoes – Do research on varieties of LARGE plum tomatoes. La Roma II were tiny… almost cherry tomato size. We also want to plant at least one heirloom variety for good-flavored tomatoes. Planting marigolds at row ends seemed to work well, but make sure to space them appropriately.
• Banana Pepper – One plant was perfect, just the right amount.
• Jalapeno Peppers – Two plants should be perfect, we just had one die this year, so we were a little short.
• Bell Peppers – If we do orange, do not plant Mohawk variety… extremely disappointing. Purple Belle from Henry Field’s were not that prolific, and kind of small, but reliable. In general, if we get good producers, I think 4 or 5 plants should be enough to keep us in peppers all summer.
• Celery – Great crop. Buy plants, don’t bother starting from seed… takes too long.
• Spinach, Lettuce, Peas – plan for a spring and a fall crop. Also, broccoli/bok choy may also do better in the fall, but plan on planting when it’s still hot, in August.
• Kale – A little goes a long way. We enjoyed it, but we don’t need that much of it. Also, it takes up more room than other greens.
• Corn Salad Greens – Huge disappointment. The seeds didn’t even come up, and when they did, the plants didn’t survive. Do not try again.
• Three Sisters Garden – It was a fun experiment, but ultimately, failed miserably. Do not try again. If we want corn, plant in standard rows, and give protection from wind. Planting beans interspersed *could* work, but do not mix with squash.
• Squash – requires full sunlight. We had terrific vines this year, but because it was partially shaded by that crabapple tree, we did not get much fruit off of it.
• Onions – The yellow sets from Henry Field’s made fine, but they were small. Try ordering plants with Mom & Dad next year.
• Potatoes – Covering with straw worked really well, and made them easier to dig up. Yukon Gold potatoes were a good flavor, and good type for our family.
• Cucumbers – Intersperse with peas… they’re taking off when peas are dying back, and both trellis on a fence really well. English cukes taste better… if we’re not pickling next year, go with these.
• Sweet Potatoes – They looked absolutely beautiful: big, gorgeous plants. It looks like the roots themselves were also nice, but unfortunately, some burrowing animal ate them all. Bah. If we try these again, we’ll need to deter the animals.
• Peanuts – These were just an experiment; just for fun. It was a good time, we got a nice bagful of nuts. No real need to do these again, not at this time.
• Flowers – Nasturtium vined terribly… almost an invasive weed. Cole’s Cosmos and Zinnia also took over where they were planted. If we plant these again, make sure they have enough room to grow, and plant sparingly!