What Worked This Growing Season

Brandywine Tomatoe Plant

Martha Stewart's Brandywine Tomatoes were definitely the perk of growing our own vegetables this year. Each plant produced several large tomatoes over the growing season from July thru early September.

Burpee Roma Tomatoes produced a good amount of tomatoes. Some of the seeds in the package gave us some weird shaped tomatoes but otherwise we were pretty happy with them. They gave out all their fruit by the end of August. I have one plant in a backyard planter that sat in the shade that's giving out it's first fruit of the year.

Honey Delight Tomatoes

Honey Delight Hybrid Tomatoes (Burpee) grew bunches of tart yellow tomatoes. They made an easy replacement for tomatillos in salsa recipes.

Kohlrabi (Behnke's) was a surprising treat once they were ready. We were really happy with this vegetable as a replacement for cucumber early in the growing season.

Garden Babies Butterhead was a delight to watch grow. They grew into small heads of lettuce with light flavor and delicate leaves.

The small eggplants were neat in terms of serving a whole little eggplant in a dish. They came out tasty in an indian curry with rice and roasted in a honey/soy/miso sauce over noodles. My one gripe is that they take forever to grow.

Herbs were definitely winners this year. They all gave awesome flavor:

• Cilantro, Calypso
• Sage, Common
• Parsley, Titan
• Basil, Siam Queen
• Large Leaf Basil (Behnke's)
• Dill, Fernleaf
• Lovage (Behnke's)

Calendula (top) Nasturtium (Bottom)

The Edible Flowers were a nice mix in the garden and did attract the right insects. Although I think I would limit my nasturtiums to one plant next year. Their flavor is a bit too much and you do get a good amount of foliage/flowers from one plant:

• Calendula, Flashback Mix (Organic)
• Nasturtium, Dwarf Cherry Rose
• Edible Marigold, Lemon Gem

The Biggest Losers this Season:

Zucchini

Burpee Zucchinis were a big disappointment this year. I think I would try a vining type instead of a bush type next time. This type of Zucchini says it's for a small garden and grows one squash at a time. Seemed like way too much leaves to meager fruit.

Burpee Broccoli Raab grew into flowers way too fast before developing any thickness to their buds. This was the most disappointing vegetable of the season. I love the taste of Broccoli Raab but wouldn't plant this type again.

I don't think I'd plant the Ferry Morse Spinach again. The leaves came out way too small and we didn't really end up eating any of it.

Garden Pics

Kohlrabi are about 2 to 3 inches wide now

Roma Tomato has leaves that I think are being eaten by insects

I think this is fennel (front) and in the back a zucchini decided to start growing finally

Swiss Chard (red version in front and yellow in back)

Collard Greens were being eaten but now seem to be recovering.

Chamomile seedling starting out. I have three growing currently.

Salad Bowl Lettuce (left) Butterhead Lettuce (center) and Broccoli Raab (right)

Cucumber plant at the base of the teepee

A cilantro plant that began from seed and behind it is a shallot plant

The sad looking plant in the back is a sweet potato and the plants in the front right are eggplants.

Danielle's Jalapeno plant growing happy new leaves

The New Mexico Chile plant is doing fine

Nasturtium plants are growing. I have about five of them.

Bay (left) and Lemon Verbena (right)

 The weather has been nice and we're expecting beautiful weather all this week (highs in the 70s and 80s).

Broccoli Raab harvested

The high today was 87F. The Broccoli Raab is supposed to grow in cooler temperatures than what it has been recently. It seems like we skipped spring and went straight from winter to summer. The Broccoli Raab unfortunately sent up shoots when it was only 2 inches tall and very thin. Next time I'll have to plant it way earlier or grow it over winter. The top little rounded pieces are the shoots and you have to catch them before they flower (My Vegetable Gardener's Bible book says you have 24 hours after they send up shoots). I'll try planting them again in the fall (hoping for better results then).

Also in the picture you can see little holes in the leaves of the Broccoli Raab. These holes are appearing everywhere: my pepper plants, tomato leaves, collard greens and kohlrabi. I sprinkled some diatomaceous earth over the weekend over the trouble areas. I have heard from other gardeners that this could be slugs and things I read online seem to confirm it too.

I am looking forward to harvesting the Kholrabi soon so I can plant some more tomatoes.

Trellises & Hot Peppers

Yesterday and today were pretty warm days between 65 and 75F. I planted hot peppers in the garden and put up two trellises. One for the honey and brandywine tomatoes and the other for my cucumbers. I took pictures of the various veggies growing in my garden.
Link to newest plant:
Barkers New Mexican Chile (Bonnie Plants/Lowes)

Here is the newest member of my collection. A New Mexican hot chile. Bonnie Plants promises a spicy pepper.

Trellises at center of photo with my new Barnes and Noble bag.

Tomato trellis (left) & Cucumber trellis (right). The tomatoe trellis uses some untreated stakes from Lowe's vertically and the two horizontal pieces are 1" thick hollow bamboo. The one on right is assembled with branches that have fallen off the trees from our rental home and some untreated short stakes from Lowe's.

This is the Jalapeno plant Danielle gave to me. He is tied to the tomato trellis with Jute rope for the moment.

We think it's a strawberry plant. I chopped it's flowers off today so it can focus on growing roots and hopefully fruit later in the year.

Spinach

Baby Butterhead Lettuce

Baby Butterhead Lettuce

We think it's Salad Bowl Lettuce

Broccoli Raab

Collard Greens (they are tiny; the picture is deceiving)

Kohlrabi is growing pretty well.

Mostly Radishes with some Carrots sprinkled here and there

I fed my plants fish emulsion (Espoma) yesterday.

Pictures at sunset right before sprinkling of rain

Baby Butterhead Lettuce from seed

Random lettuce that popped up (We think it's Salad Bowl Lettuce).

Cilantro seedlings that survived the small flood (I guess they are too close together)

Radishes (large leaves) & Carrots (teeny tiny leaves at right)

Broccoli Raab (left) Butterhead Lettuce (center) & random lettuce from previous tenant (left)

Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi up close

Onions (back) Oregano (left) & Rosemary (right)

Strawberry (I think) plant from previous tenant

Calendula seedling transplanted

Herb & Flower Transplants plus a Strawberry Surprise

Today I planted some of the herbs and vegetables I have started indoors: four chamomile, three calendula, two parsley, and two dill seedlings. I also found what I think is a strawberry plant growing in the walkway that I transplanted to where the spinach are planted. I also planted additional seeds: Broccoli Raab in the uphill eastern part, Swiss Chard uphill and downhill, Nasturtium (2 additional scraped seeds since the original seeds haven't germinated yet), Spinach (scattered throughout the planting area), three carrots in the uphill north part, and four zucchini seeds in a diamond pattern. I also transplanted some Chef Jeff's Rosemary and Oregano plants that I've had inside the house.

There are also other "weeds" growing that could be celery or thyme that I've transplanted in the lower western corner where the chamomile are planted. Their leaves aren't as apparent as the strawberry ones to identify. I'll see if they come out with anything interesting and useable.

Next on the list is to set out my peppers in the cold temperatures on my deck (night & day) and begin hardening my tomatoes, cucumber and eggplants (during the day). Also I can get the leeks into the garden along with some sage and Thai basil tomorrow. I haven't really hardened my herb or flower plants before setting out (crossing my fingers they'll be okay).

The cilantro in the garden that got pulled out by that storm has recovered and true leaves are forming (they actually look like a regular cilantro leaf).

Heavy Rain & Plot 29 Pictures

So we had heavy rain earlier this week that submerged my cilantro plants under a fast moving stream of water.

Plot 29 (before storm)

Calypso Cilantro Seedlings (before rain)

Radishes

Scallions

Collard Green Seedlings

Baby Butterhead Lettuce Seedlings

Broccoli Raab Seedlings

Plot 29 during storm

Plot 29 cilantro seedlings submerged =(

Plot 29 with some new wood to protect from water (left)