What worked/didn't work in your 2010 garden

**gottadance** · 10-02-2010, 09:25 AM

Oops - I meant 2010. Well, another gardening season coming to an end here in IL. Here's what worked/didn't:

1. Placement of garden. I put my garden on the south side of my house in front of some bushes, not realizing how large the bushes would get. Every spring I trim them back, but by mid summer they are growing over the veggie garden and shading it. Love the bushes, but think I need to move my garden further away from the bushes.

2. Tomatoes, basil, swiss chard, broccoli - all worked. Did very well

3. Squash/pumpkin - grew well, but I think I planted too late - got one butternut squash. Also, think there was too much shade from bushes

4. Zucchini does not want to grow in my garden. Every year I try and every year, just doesn't grow.

5. Brussel sprouts - hardly grew - again, too much shade

6. Asparagus - planted nine of two varieties, one variety didn't even come up. The others - three - grew well - New Jersey Giant

7. Cilantro - grew but died too fast - planted some seeds later and those didn't come up. Need to figure out how to get this to grow later so it comes up when I have tomatoes and can make salsa.

8. Strawberries - did very well, but am going to replace them. A woman gave me this plants and said they were "sort of small" berries - they are extremely small. However, since they do so well, I'm going to get a bigger variety and use those.

9. Planted dwarf peach and plum trees this year. Peach produced prolific amounts of fruit - but critters got to every one of them - I didn't get one peach! Need to figure out how to keep critters off. Plum didn't do great, we'll see if next year is better.

Anyone else?

**Judi Dial** · 10-02-2010, 10:32 AM

What worked for us:
I finally planted enough plants that we got food, instead of appetizers!

What didn't work:

I had no way to shade the lettuce and so it all bolted early summer.

Limited success:

The hay bale gardening I did with bales atop racks was a limited success, it will be better with the bales flat on the ground.

The new pea trellis idea worked, but I need to plant more plants and let less other plants grow around the peas, the peas needed more space than they got.

The new trellis, although it works fine, needs to be taller than it is for both the morning glories and the beans.

Judi

**Contrary Housewife** · 10-02-2010, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by gottadance

9. Planted dwarf peach and plum trees this year. Peach produced prolific amounts of fruit - but critters got to every one of them - I didn't get one peach! Need to figure out how to keep critters off. Plum didn't do great, we'll see if next year is better.

You can buy nets for fruit trees. They work pretty well.

Let's see... Our #1 mistake this year was not getting weed barrier down this spring. We were exhausted and it just didn't happen. As a result crab grass took over the garden and no amount of pulling would get rid of it. And because of that nothing grew very well. The grass grew over or choked out a number of things, and provided a safe haven for the locusts. It was too hot to clear any of the garden for fall planting, thus this whole season has been a waste.

**Natalie's Nesters** · 10-02-2010, 12:43 PM

Lets see, no onions(I have no idea where they went!) Cukes..had 1 it died on the vine. Best thing was putting down newspaper and old hay between rows and under the electric fence. I would weed once a week for 10 minutes! I will do that again next year!

**Darlene** · 10-02-2010, 01:29 PM

Good year for: Broccoli, yellow beans, swiss chard, cukes.
No so good for: Zucchini & tomatoes
I'm guessing with the zucc's it was a pollination problem, I'm going to help them next year by playing bee using a brush to pollinate them myself.
I think we are going to cut back on our tomatoes or cut them out completely, just seems like every year they don't really produce well. The ones we did have were tasty though, nothing else quite like a picked from the garden ripe tomato.

Seeing Durgans brussels sprouts has me wanting to try growing them again and they can take the place of tomatoes in the garden space.
The yellow beans (Ferry-Morse "Carson" bush bean) were great, outdid the green big time. Definately going to grow them again and heck they are easier to see so nice for picking.

I put my basil and parsley in containers this year and I'll make room for them in the garden next year because they would have been happier with room to groove.

Mesculn greens in the spring did well & I have another batch in the barrel now, enjoying itself growing without all the heat.

**frugalwarrior2** · 10-02-2010, 01:34 PM

Our tomaatoes did well enough but the strawberries got a fungus.
The biggest prob. were the voles and bees. Kitties got the voles but the bees got the kitties more than once. (their ook,don't worry).

**Pemberleyan** · 10-02-2010, 10:19 PM

I have been so discouraged with unsuccessful gardening for the past few years that I did not intend to plant anything, but my father gave me several tomato plants. We had blossom end rot and the poorest tomato crop ever, I think. My pitiful climbing beans did so poorly that I stopped watering them. My potato plants didn't live long and we probably only got a pound or two of potatoes.

Our thornless blackberry crop wasn't bad and we've picked over 200 pounds of muscadines. We've grown so tired of picking that a lot of it is going to waste. I've canned 13 quarts of juice and 4 batches of jelly. Many gallons of juice have gone in the freezer. We also had the best strawberry crop we've ever had.

I just hope I never have to survive on what I can grow ;-).

**Labontet** · 10-02-2010, 10:46 PM

In my back yard the only thing that grew wonderfully was the yellow squash. The black eyed peas and green beans were a wreck and never really grew. They were NOT HAPPY.

On the side of my carport I grew grape tomatoes and beefsteak tomatoes. They did pretty good.

**Neeley** · 10-02-2010, 11:10 PM

Nothing worked!!! I have tried a couple of times to grow stuff and have failed miserably. I will just have to get my fruits and veggies at the farmer's market. Oh well, on the bright side, I am supporting local farmers and stimulating the economy.

**frugalfranny** · 10-03-2010, 01:48 AM

Originally Posted by gottadance

Oops - I meant 2010.

1. Placement of garden. I put my garden on the south side of my house in front of some bushes, not realizing how large the bushes would get. Every spring I trim them back, but by mid summer they are growing over the veggie garden and shading it. Love the bushes, but think I need to move my garden further away from the bushes.

4. Zucchini does not want to grow in my garden. Every year I try and every year, just doesn't grow.

7. Cilantro - grew but died too fast - planted some seeds later and those didn't come up. Need to figure out how to get this to grow later so it comes up when I have tomatoes and can make salsa.

Anyone else?

Boy, gottadance, if there is any way to move the bushes I think I would do that. My garden is on the south side too and it loves all the sun!

Had to laugh about the Zuc. Didn't know there was ANYPLACE that it wouldn't grow!

This was first year for me growing Cilantro. I gather it doesn't like the heat very well. Mine died back soon too but I let it reseed and it is coming up now. ?cooler weather crop??? don't know....

We had so much spring rain that I lost some plants with that. And a milder summer than normal so I only got ONE tiny cantaloupe. Lost my watermelon in the spring rains.

Due to lack of heat my tomatoes didn't do great but I am still picking them. Picked a bunch today.

My cukes weren't overly impressive either. Lost two of my Armenian ones and the other just wasn't going to produce much so I jerked it out!!

My squash did great......got lots of acorn and some butter cup.

I have NEVER had a year where I fought so many bugs!!! All kinds.......even a tiny grasshopper type thing that I haven't had before...........bugs........bugs.......and more bugs. thanks to our VERY MILD winter.........and rainy spring!

**gottadance** · 10-03-2010, 01:59 AM

Originally Posted by Pemberleyan

I have been so discouraged with unsuccessful gardening for the past few years that I did not intend to plant anything, but my father gave me several tomato plants. We had blossom end rot and the poorest tomato crop ever, I think. My pitiful climbing beans did so poorly that I stopped watering them. My potato plants didn't live long and we probably only got a pound or two of potatoes.

Our thornless blackberry crop wasn't bad and we've picked over 200 pounds of muscadines. We've grown so tired of picking that a lot of it is going to waste. I've canned 13 quarts of juice and 4 batches of jelly. Many gallons of juice have gone in the freezer. We also had the best strawberry crop we've ever had.

I just hope I never have to survive on what I can grow ;-).

Yes, it does get frustrating. I don't know what my neighbor did but he planted in boxes in an area that to me seemed pretty shady, but he had the most beautiful, prolific tomatoes, cucumbers and pumpkins! I thought I'd really fertilized mine well, but apparently not enough. I sometimes feel like for what I spent on plants I could have gone to the store, saved the time/energy, and bought a couple of organic things. But it's just something that I want to learn how to do, so I keep trying.

**gottadance** · 10-03-2010, 02:01 AM

Originally Posted by frugalfranny

Boy, gottadance, if there is any way to move the bushes I think I would do that. My garden is on the south side too and it loves all the sun!

Oh - no problem - if I move them, they'll be further south and getting more sun. The shrubs are north of the garden, but they keep growing out over the top of it towards the south sun.

**gottadance** · 10-03-2010, 02:07 AM

Originally Posted by Contrary Housewife

You can buy nets for fruit trees. They work pretty well.

hmmm...I tried netting and it didn't work - I had three peaches left (originally had about 50) when I put the netting on. I came out - peaches gone.

**gottadance** · 10-03-2010, 02:08 AM

Originally Posted by Pemberleyan

Our thornless blackberry crop wasn't bad and we've picked over 200 pounds of muscadines. We've grown so tired of picking that a lot of it is going to waste. I've canned 13 quarts of juice and 4 batches of jelly. Many gallons of juice have gone in the freezer.

Why not post on freecycle that you have blackberries for the picking? Some people would love to come and get them.

**Pemberleyan** · 10-03-2010, 04:02 AM

Originally Posted by gottadance

Why not post on freecycle that you have blackberries for the picking? Some people would love to come and get them.

Well, there is no freecycle in our county, and the way crime is now, I wouldn't want to risk meeting some stranger way out in the country where I live. Some of my relatives are supposed to pick today.