Getting ready

Some shots of the boxes, mostly cleared and ready to be turned with organic chicken manure.

2007 Recap

I figured that before I do my two blog posts for the 2008 garden that I ought to recap how the 2007 effort turned out.

Top level ---

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins! We had pumpkins growing all over the place. I have never grown so many pumpkins, and the vines sprawled everywhere. The pumpkins did so well that we decided to have a pumpkin growing contest this year. BTW, C's pumpkins were the largest, but he grew his on the bottom level where they received the most mid-summer sun.

Chard and beets grew well, especially where the cat peed. I couldn't bring myself to eat those particular plants, although I suppose it's just nitrogen from the urea. But beets and chard do well on the top level. I'll probably not do the multi-colored beets this year. There were just too many beets... unless I come up with a better way to cook them than boiling and peeling.

Carrots did well, and we enjoyed them. The yellow carrots and fingerlings we planted were not as sweet as the varieties I've grown in the plast.

Lettuce... it pays to be lazy. I let the lettuce go to seed at the end of summer and was pleasantly gifted with early spring lettuce volunteers. I've got about 12 heads of butterhead, leafy and curly red out there waiting to be picked. I love Burpee's Tom Thumb Butterhead. Delicious!

Bush beans... did well on the top level. And gave a nice bumper crop. Slenderette, I think they were called.

Cucumbers... they need more sun. They were so wrapped up in old pea vines and the mystery squash I didn't even bother.

Mystery Squash... a squash seed that I thought was Delicata (something I saved from the store) but then it grew so big that I changed my mind and thought it was Spaghetti Squash. I could hardly get a knife through it, and when I did, it was kind of half spaghetti/half Delicata. Weird. I think I'll buy my seeds from now on. It made some nice decorative squashes, with the warts and all.

Snow peas... a lot of work for a quick harvest ... don't go away for the weekend or you might miss it. These need to be closer to the bottom level. C had some sugar snap peas that were a bush variety which didn't need staking. I think I'll try some of these instead.

Second level ---

Herb box... not much to say except that I discovered that it's easy to fry sage leaves and the whole family loves them. The sage plant was down to it's barest bones. It's coming back nicely though... just in time! Here's a shot of some pesky Four-O'Clocks where I stuck the roots in the herb box to see if they could be transplanted. I'm going to yanking up sprouts all OVER the place this year. I wonder if the deer eat these?

Bell peppers... lovely variety of colors (red, yellow and chocolate) and lots of fruit. I'll definitely plant again.

Garlic and shallots... The garlic was delicious for green garlic. I didn't pull the bulbs out and it's sprouting again now. I need to get out there. The red shallots never came up. This happened to me once before and I thought it was a fluke. What's up with that? Now I know, yellow shallots only.

Clarinette (Lebanese zucchini) and Baby Round Zucchini - this is my third or fourth year growing these. This year I was reluctant to thin them and let about 12 plants grow close together. We had a lot of squash getting away from us, which taxes the vines. It takes them a week or more to recover from a large squash. I think I'll thin this year.

Sunflowers - the Joker. Really pretty red and yellow flowers. The bees love them. I must plant more for the bees.

First level ---

Bean teepee in pots. It was a fun idea, and we got a few beans, but I couldn't keep the watering consistent because the drippers would plug up. Maybe not worth the effort this year.

The kids box: Noteworthy growers: C's Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins, the Peacevine Cherry tomato (prolific, sweet) from Love Apple Farm. Everything else grew well except for the watermelons... just not enough sun or heat here. I was reluctant to actually eat anything from the front of the box because of the Hardibacker dust. I had scooped the soil off, but was still a little wary. Not sure what to plant there this year, but it should be okay.

Tomatoes ... YUM

Yellow Brandywine: just a few fruits, not sure I'll plant again. The red brandywine has done better in the past.
La Carotina: just a few fruits, not sure I'll plant again. I think it was good.
Bloody Butcher: lots of fruit. Richer flavor than I remember.
Early Girl: reliable performer with lots of fruit. The skins seemed tougher this year. Wonder if it has to do with watering.
Azoychka: A small Russian yellow. Got pretty much nuthin' off the vine.
Green Grape: My lovely favorite. Sweet, nutty fruits. I'm forgiving if I don't get many because they are so good, but this season I was rewarded with lots of these yummy treats.
Ant Ruby's Green Cherry: prolific and a little too tart for my taste. I'll stick with the Green Grape.
Costeluto Florentino: A medium-sized ruffled Italian. Delicious and prolific. Rich... I ate a few too many of these and my teeth were sensitive for weeks.

Alabama Beans - did well again, although I wasn't on top of my game picking when they needed to be picked. I didn't get as much of a bumper crop as I would have liked. I planted these in the wet box this past season and I don't think they liked it. This box is closest to the pressure pump and always seems to be dripping all day long even though there are no more sprayers in it than any of the other boxes. I think the soil is a little heavier too. I either need plants that don't mind wet feet or I'll need to somehow change the watering.

Basil - it grows well enough that I can't keep up with it. When it flowers the bees are all over it and then I don't have the heart to pick back the flowers...or the nerve. Not that the leaves would taste as good anyway. But we got a few good pesto makes from it.

That about covers it for 2007.

BIGGEST WINNERS: Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins, Peacevine Cherry
BIGGEST LOSERS: Mystery squash, the red shallots that never came up.