Season Review
October 31, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Well since summer seems to be gone, I thought it would be a good idea to think about this past year and make some notes for next year.
It seems that last spring I could have planted more lettuce, radishes, beets & carrots later in the season. This would have helped with the gap in late May. While the kids enjoyed the baby corn, it seems they really wanted regular fresh corn.
I definately need to plant more melons. Plant less small tomatoes and a lot more large ones. Give the large tomatoes more space, they probably need a good 24 inches each. I only had about 2 doz large tomatoes, could probably use upwards of 75-100. It takes a lot to make sauce, ketchup and other tomato based things.
Twenty to thirty row feet of snap and snow peas are probably enough, since I don’t like the way they are when you freeze them. But we could use 50 or more row feet of shelling peas for freezing little green peas and probably 25 feet or so of the Blueshokker soup peas.
Since the Lima beans didn’t set pods until late September, they could probably go in a lot later than they did.
I need more bird protection, especially in the summer and fall. Not only did I lose a lot of seedlings to the birds, but also a lot of sunflower and popping sorghum seeds.
I need more rat/squirrel/rabbit control, they got some melons, tomatoes, squash and other things.
I want more peppers of all types. The amount of squash was fine, as we don’t eat much, especially of the summer types.
We would probably eat more spinach type greens, but mustard and turnip greens were a bust at the table.
We could probably eat more dry beans. The amount of green beans might have been too much, they weren’t a big thrill for the kids so I anticipate the 21 pints I canned to be more than enough. Though I will plant less yard long beans and more Kentucky Wonders.
We could use a lot more strawberry plants. Nobody likes Huckleberries, so I will just invest in more blueberry bushes.
We needed a lot more cucumbers. So this year watch out for the aphids and try to get rid of them ASAP.
I really need to work on the succession plantings. Not keeping up lead to a lot of gaps this year.
It seems that last spring I could have planted more lettuce, radishes, beets & carrots later in the season. This would have helped with the gap in late May. While the kids enjoyed the baby corn, it seems they really wanted regular fresh corn.
I definately need to plant more melons. Plant less small tomatoes and a lot more large ones. Give the large tomatoes more space, they probably need a good 24 inches each. I only had about 2 doz large tomatoes, could probably use upwards of 75-100. It takes a lot to make sauce, ketchup and other tomato based things.
Twenty to thirty row feet of snap and snow peas are probably enough, since I don’t like the way they are when you freeze them. But we could use 50 or more row feet of shelling peas for freezing little green peas and probably 25 feet or so of the Blueshokker soup peas.
Since the Lima beans didn’t set pods until late September, they could probably go in a lot later than they did.
I need more bird protection, especially in the summer and fall. Not only did I lose a lot of seedlings to the birds, but also a lot of sunflower and popping sorghum seeds.
I need more rat/squirrel/rabbit control, they got some melons, tomatoes, squash and other things.
I want more peppers of all types. The amount of squash was fine, as we don’t eat much, especially of the summer types.
We would probably eat more spinach type greens, but mustard and turnip greens were a bust at the table.
We could probably eat more dry beans. The amount of green beans might have been too much, they weren’t a big thrill for the kids so I anticipate the 21 pints I canned to be more than enough. Though I will plant less yard long beans and more Kentucky Wonders.
We could use a lot more strawberry plants. Nobody likes Huckleberries, so I will just invest in more blueberry bushes.
We needed a lot more cucumbers. So this year watch out for the aphids and try to get rid of them ASAP.
I really need to work on the succession plantings. Not keeping up lead to a lot of gaps this year.
An apple of unknown variety.
In spite of the earlier rodent attack, the cantaloupes on the compost pile are making a come back. This one will be ready soon.
A view of the back garden, with hollyhocks and sunflowers.
These are Polish Linquisa paste tomatoes. Almost ready for makin’ sauce!
That roque squash plant turns out to be a Kabocha.
A yard long bean. They do love the heat.
Double Yield cucumbers from www.freedomseeds.com are bloomin up a storm
Huckleberries. I’ve never grown this before. They are loaded with fruit and while it is black it doesn’t seem to be ready to pick yet.
The front yard grain patch. In the front the small seeded sunflowers are beginning to bloom. In the back ground the bloody butcher corn, popping sorhgum and broom corn.
This is the raspberry bed that was overseeded to buckwheat. I discovered I probably planted the buckwheat too thick and with the heat it was taking a lot of water to keep it from wilting. So I pulled it up, picked off a few ripe seeds and laid it back down, along with the wild sunflowers, as mulch for the raspberries. We will probably have more buckwheat and sunflowers later on when the monsoon gets around to giving up some rain.
The moon & stars watermelon plants are taking off and outgrowing their little cages.
No Vacancy. The new rabbit condo is full with our 4 does in place. When the weather cools off I’ll build another like it for the 2 bucks, which will also give me space to hold fryers over if I need to.
The greywater filter tub, with canna lilly, elephant ears and kabocha squash.
The Jicama are really taking off now that it is really hot. I just don’t know why the leaves are scorching like this.
More ‘maters. These are the Imur Prior Beta, nice 1 ounce fruits.
The yellow peppers are Rio Grande, with a nice mild heat. There are some green bells hiding in the back ground.
This squash started out innocently enough, just a little sprout in the compost in the corner of the greenhouse bed…..I now believe it is an alien bent on taking over the garden!
Liberty said we had to grow pickles and so we are, here’s a couple still on the vine 
Here’s the greenhouse from the other side. The big bushy plants in the tubs are huckleberries. I haven’t grown them before but they are doing very well, loaded with flowers and green fruit.
I just finished potting on some eggplants and peppers into these 2 1/2 gallon containers. The peppers are Rio Grande. The large leaved plant just behind the peppers is my little fig tree, growing from a cutting I took last fall. Behind everything are some of the potted potatoes.
A Delicata squash grown in a large tub. I love these little winter squash, they are very sweet and tasty. Much better than any acorn I’ve ever tried.
Purple de Milpa, a purple tomatillo from the Seed Saver’s Exchange.
On the patio the Trombocinno is taking off and so are the yard long beans.
A young Trombocinno squash
these “Snow White” tomatoes are certainly misnamed, tho they are sweet and juicy.
The Jicama have finally quit pouting and started growing now that is warmer.
The grey water filter tub is growing a good crop too. Kabocha squash, Elephant ears, canna lilly
A Moon & stars Heirloom watermelon seedling. This time of year nothing is safe from the birds and every little seedling has to be caged to keep them from being ripped up and eaten.
The King of the Garden Lima beans are still going at it. They are now 11 FEET tall!
Bloody Butcher corn is doing well. some of the popping sorghum and broom corn were wiped out in an afternoon when the chickens got loose, but there are still some plants left.
Looking along the driveway from the front steps, the bergamot is blooming, the grape vine thinks that everything is there just for it to climb on, like the apple tree.
This is a Blacktail Mountain watermelon. It’s one of the ones growing on the compost pile out back.
Here’s another little watermelon along with a cantaloupe. We would be much closer to eating cantaloupes except for the darn rodents that ate every single developing fruit! as well as munching on the vines. They are making a comeback now though.
Baby Blue Hubbard squash on their compost pile. They look a bit sad because I forgot to water them one day and when I got to them they were badly wilted. They are doing fine now though, with several small squash coming on.
Here’s one of those Baby Blues, next to the compost thermometer, which still registers 140 degrees. It actually went down to 130 but a good watering and it went up to 150, but has settled back down to 140 again.
We had a nice thunderstorm this evening and I spied this double rainbow when I went outside after the rain.
These are the Princepe Borghese tomatoes. I’m afraid the blue jays have discovered them though. Now I have to buy more bird netting.
The west side of the patio is beginning to look like a jungle, potted potatoes on the left, tomatoes on the right. More potatoes in the background. The orange pots have pepper plants in them. They are sitting on the 55 gal drum which is the sand filter for the grey water from the washing machine.
Here’s a new compost pile. It is built over several tree stumps that I’m trying to get rid of. I’ve managed to kill an oleander by building a hot compost pile on top of the stump. This pile was built of horse manure and sawdust, topped off with some leaf litter, then some finished compost on top of that. I’ll be planting watermelons on it soon.
The Kabocha squash in the grey water tub is going strong. On the right is a canna lilly.
King of the Garden Lima beans on the arch trellis. The tallest one has hit 5’6″ and still climbing.
The new garden beds out front, with Bloody Butcher corn, popping sorghum, broom corn and quinoa. In the foreground are some madder plants.
The trombocino squash has hit the roof and started sideways.
The greenhouse looking from the outside in. The sugar snap peas have been pulled out and replaced with various beans. A volunteer squash plant is taking over the corner. You can’t see them in the pic but lots of Malabar spinach in there too. Left side of the pic you can just see part of Miracle’s sunflower and the bed of baby corn.
Another view of the greenhouse. Looks like I need to do a little housekeeping in there! The big green bushes are the huckleberries I grew from seed. They are beginning to bloom. I’ve never grown them before, but they are supposed to taste like blueberries.
On the right are large paste tomatoes. On the left Burgandy Okra. Some of the okra seedlings didn’t make it and were replaced with my 6 Beauregard sweet potatoe plants.
The Maxi Golt peas were done for, so out they came, to be replaced by Burgandy okra and several inches of sawdust mulch
Some of the Sugar Snap peas come out and are placed by Double Yield cucumbers [thanks! www.freedomseeds.com] and Kentucky Wonder pole beans
Chires Baby Corn seedlings. These are the little baby corns in Chinese cooking, or left to mature they make popcorn.
The strawberry bed is interplanted with purple bush beans.
The Elephant Garlic is blooming. We got almost 5 pounds!
A spell of cool rainy weather gave the Blueshokker peas a new lease on life.
A Grimes Golden apple grows with Mammoth sunflowers, asparagus, Swiss chard, cosmos and nasturtiums.
Super Italian Paste tomatoes in large cages. Despite a wind storm knocking them over and breaking some branches, they are doing ok.
A Lemon Gem marigold. It really does smell and taste of citrus.
On the patio looking down the SW side of the house. The big green bushes in front are some of the potted potatoes.
This sad looking Red Currant tomato nealy drowned. It’s planted in an old ice chest and I didn’t realize the drain plug got closed up. But it’s making a come back and even delivered up our first taste of homegrown tomatoes.
Yard long bean seedlings in a planter by the house. They’ll grow up to shade the laundry room windows.
The trombocino squash is taking off.
On the patio tomatoes grow in old ice chests and peppers in the orange pots.
!st big red tomato, an Imur Prior Beta, it weighed 1 1/2 ounces and tasted delicious.
The Kabocha squash was rudely pruned by a pack rat
The buckwheat is blooming. mmmm buckwheat pancakes, coming up!
The chickens enjoy scratching in their new spot.
A wild sunflower with very tiny seeds volunteers in the raspberry bed.
The Baba raspberries are showing some color.
The new garden area: paths laid, beds made, planted with popping sorghum, quinoa and Bloody Butcher corn.
Potatoes in the ground out front aren’t as big and lush as the potted ones on the patio, but doing ok under 6 inches of sawdust mulch.
Bloody Butcher corn seedlings. The sticks along the edge of the bed are guides to keep small children on the path.
King of the Garden Lima beans are taking off up their trellis.
Pencil pod yellow wax beans await transplanting.
Poppies and wildflowers bloom along the driveway.
A strong smelling sage blooms
WOW! look at those melons taking off.
Yippee! A baby watermelon
The Baby Blue Hubbards are blooming. That compost pile is still hot, 138 degrees!
More wild flowers, poppies, a corn flower and a baby apple along the drive way
A bee buzzes a bright red poppy full of pollen.