With this rainy weather I get a chance to finish out the books for the 2014 growing season. I see what did well and made a nice crop and what did poorly. Then planning starts for the new season ahead. A review of the meteorologic year is also helpful to make sense of what happened in the garden. Last winter was unusually harsh, followed by a cool dry spring. The garden got off to a late start and several crops were 2-3 weeks late overall. Temperatures were fairly typical last summer with early dryness and adequate rains later in the season. Fall came on schedule but we had an early hard freeze in November.
First let's look at what did well. Beans, peppers, tomatoes, squash, spring peas, and sweet potatoes made a great crop this year. Eggplants did well but came later than normal although they were planted same time as the peppers. Potatoes did good, not as much size to the tubers because of the dry spring weather. I was aggressive with a spray program on the tomatoes, the spray combined with dry weather helped with the blight. There were lots of green tomatoes on the vines at the end of the season which I picked and stored in the basement...we're actually having a tomato sandwich for lunch today!!
Notable crops that didn't do good for me this year included beets and cauliflower. For the second year in a row I had poor germination of the beet seeds, it might be time to change varieties/suppliers. Cauliflower was a complete mystery, beautiful plants that just didn't produce, obviously aggravated by the cold in early November. Last winter's harshness hurt strawberry production, and the blueberry crop was hurt by the drought.
Looking forward, in the next week or so, I'll place my seed orders for the coming season. I'm planning no new crops this year but if I see a new variety of a particular crop I may try a trial planting. (I do have my eye on a specific tomato for the largest tomato contest at the farmers market!) In the archives on this site are the specific varieties I plant so check that list if you want to order your own seeds.
First let's look at what did well. Beans, peppers, tomatoes, squash, spring peas, and sweet potatoes made a great crop this year. Eggplants did well but came later than normal although they were planted same time as the peppers. Potatoes did good, not as much size to the tubers because of the dry spring weather. I was aggressive with a spray program on the tomatoes, the spray combined with dry weather helped with the blight. There were lots of green tomatoes on the vines at the end of the season which I picked and stored in the basement...we're actually having a tomato sandwich for lunch today!!
Notable crops that didn't do good for me this year included beets and cauliflower. For the second year in a row I had poor germination of the beet seeds, it might be time to change varieties/suppliers. Cauliflower was a complete mystery, beautiful plants that just didn't produce, obviously aggravated by the cold in early November. Last winter's harshness hurt strawberry production, and the blueberry crop was hurt by the drought.
Looking forward, in the next week or so, I'll place my seed orders for the coming season. I'm planning no new crops this year but if I see a new variety of a particular crop I may try a trial planting. (I do have my eye on a specific tomato for the largest tomato contest at the farmers market!) In the archives on this site are the specific varieties I plant so check that list if you want to order your own seeds.
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