Hits and Misses in the Garden 2010

The sum total of our grape juice from the vines in the garden.

We did 3 raised beds. They work well for some things and not so well for others.

1. The cruciferous vegetables overwhelmed the raised bed and didn't produce good vegetables. The broccoli and cauliflower were okay but the brussel sprouts and cabbages were runts. Back to the ground.

2. Strawberries grew well in the boxes but we didn't get many; probably need more fertilizer.

3.Raspberries produced well; lots of even watering because Dad did it.

4. Artichokes: I planted them near the house and they were stunted, need to go out in the good garden soil.

5.Peppers: Planted in the boxes and didn't produce well. Tried the Gypsy peppers because the Armenians and Bosnians who came in to the greenhouses bought them by the hundreds but I didn't notice that they were much better than other sweet peppers. I really liked the lipstick pepper but I only got one. Maybe the season was too cool.

6. Summer squash: Green and yellow zucchini, yellow crookneck, flying saucer squash, all good if picked small. They got a mildew on the leaves that probably came from the greenhouse. Plant seeds to avoid mildew and find a new location next time.

7. Tomatoes: Planted lots of kinds but didn't label them so we don't know what is best. The cherokee purple didn't have much taste compared to the red ones. Both grape and jelly bean cherry tomatoes are tasty but the yellow pear was bland and had a mushy texture.

The Lemon boy tomato was good and did look like a lemon. Some were planted in boxes and some in the ground. I didn't notice a difference in growth or production.

8.Melons: Sugar baby watermelons were tasty and ripened at the end of August. Cantaloupe was tasty. Don't wait until it loses its green to harvest. Be careful with melons to not to let them over ripen. We should grow about 4 plants each to satisfy our appetite.

9. Concord grapes: Good. Still young and didn't produce enough to make juice.

10. Root vegetables.: Planted in the boxes, excellent results. Carrots so yummy they are almost habit forming. I liked picking them when they are baby carrot size. Golden beets, excellent, the golden ones seem milder flavored than red beets. Greens are good too cooked or raw. They have a chewier texture in salads than lettuce.

11. Cucumbers: I liked the lemon cucumbers because the skin seems more tender and it's a smaller cucumber and I don't need much at a time.

12. Onions: Planted in boxes and they didn't do well. They hardly grew. The Walla Walla are worth planting. They taste terrific. Back to the ground.

13. Corn: We don't know what kind we planted but there seemed to be three kinds. All did well with Dad's masterful watering.

14. Winter squashes: They did well in spite of the mildew. I learned that if you can easily pierce the skin with your fingernail they aren't ready and the bigger the spaghetti squash the tastier.

15. Gourds: They did well in spite of the mildew but I would like them to be decorative so I should grow them on a trellis maybe somewhere besides the vegetable garden.

16. Pumpkins: Planted seeds, the French Antique. Excellent

17. Eggplant: In the ground, did well but the season was too cool for them.

18. Potatoes: Yukon gold and Red Pontiac. Excellent. It was the kind of year that makes Idaho so great for growing potatoes. Temperatures in the 90's and nights that cool down and rich volcanic soil. We got a lot of big smooth tasty potatoes.