Every year I find it helpful to write about the things I’ve learned in the garden so that I can make sure I avoid the same mistakes next year. Plus it helps teach all of you the obstacles I’ve faced so that you can learn what to avoid. So here’s what I’ve learned this year so far.
1. Late rains cause all sorts of problems. Splitting fruit and a deluge of powder mildew, slugs, snails and other diseases and pests. The powdery mildew is the worst I’ve ever seen it actually. It’s attacked my tomatillos, which I’ve always considered bombproof. We’re also seeing a lot of it on our squash, and it’s greatly reduced the productivity of our zucchini. Yes, apparently zucchini isn’t always throwing fruit at you.
2. Purple beans are not easier to find in the foliage than green beans. Well, at least at first. However, what I do like about them is that they don’t make my arms itch when I harvest them. I also find they are more productive so next year we’ll be planting them again – just not so many.
3. Potato FAIL. We had a miserable potato harvest this year. We’ve decided that we’re going to take them out of the ground and create pallet boxes to grow them in. That way they won’t be competing with weeds, particularly bindweed, which can reduce yields by over 30% and we can control the soil texture. The bonus of the pallet boxes is that it will be easier for us to label the varieties and keep the separate – especially the yellow potatoes.
4. Our two smaller beds need a makeover. The bindweed in them is completely uncontrollable and I’ve pretty much given up on them. So we’re going to suck it up and build raised beds in their location with hardware cloth and weedblock underneath them and clean topsoil in them.
5. Apple tree and cherry tree FAIL. Our Fuji apple tree was hit this year with Bacterial Blossom Blast. Over half of it was affected. One of our cherry trees was hit with Verticillium wilt which is even more serious and we’ll have to remove that tree. I’m bummed out because it’s such a big beautiful tree – or at least it was. We’re going to keep the cherry tree because they do sometimes recover spontaneously and it currently has live buds on it. The apple tree, however, is going to need to come out and be replaced with something else. I’m just not sure by what yet.
6. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. If a system or variety is working out for us I need to stop screwing around with it. The corn is a prime example. Bloody Butcher, a heirloom variety, has always treated us well, but for a couple of years I was looking for a better variety. Nothing ever did as well as Bloody Butcher so we finally started growing it again and will focus on that variety for years to come. We also had attempted in previous years to grow the corn with beans. It just doesn’t work well for us so I won’t be doing that anymore either.
This is what I have for now. I’m sure I’ll be learning more as the season progresses.
Very interesting to hear the successes and failures of others. I want to get some of those purple beans! I have them marked.
Thanks for sharing, Rachel. I have chronic failures with growing carrots. I don't know if I'm not trying the right varieties or my soil is just crap (although I grow in 11 different gardens, so…) but I can't get them to grow.
I tried something with potatoes this year that ended up working really well for me in terms of productivity and harvesting, though I don't imagine it would help with bindweed. We dug trenches for the potatoes just like normal. We lined the bottom of the trench with a layer of straw, then put the potatoes in the straw, added another layer of straw (a straw sandwich!) and then topped that with the dirt we had removed to create the ditch. It gave the potatoes a really loamy situation to grow in, and they did well. Also, not quite as hard to harvest because the soil didn't get as compacted.
Sundari, that's what we've been doing. Unfortunately I think the bindweed is playing a bigger role that I'd like.
Very thoughtful list. Major bummer to hear about the apple and cherry trees, it always feels like such a step back when you have to replace a fruit tree. Any new thoughts on apple varieties, or are you going with another Fuji?
El Gaucho, I'm kind of over the Fuji to be honest. We've already got a Granny Smith, Arkansas Black, Pink Pearl and an old cider type apple so I don't know if we need any more apple trees. We're thinking of putting in a Paw Paw instead.
Potatoes were a fail here too. (I'm in Pleasanton so not so far from you.) Carrots too. Zucchini did great and was growing in the chicken yard of all places; pumpkin too. Green beans growing up corn makes it hard to FIND the beans I learned.
Biggest lesson for me was KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I PLANT better. I'm better this year but still have a mystery zucchini (I think!) that is very prolific. Maybe it's a compost volunteer hybrid. Sort of like a crookneck in shape but green with white stripes.
What is bindweed? I have a horrid weed taking over a bed or two. Rhizome based I think. Big thick green blades. Right now I'm trying to smother it with a lot of straw.
Potatoes are doing okay for me in half barrels, and in an elongated raised bed where we never have grown anything. Knock wood (taps on head.)
One batch of potatoes died out kind of fast, but I chalk that up to being flaky w/ the watering in that spot.
Instead, here are my monumental kick-oneself-in-the-ass failures:
corn
shell beans
millet
summer squashes
winter squashes
And it kills me because everything was planted at the right time, but we got that freakishly late rainfall which compacted all the tilled beds.
No mildew, gods be thanked, but I chalk that up to the heat in Pittsburg.
so it was the RAIN that did that to my squashes?! D'oh. I am obviously very, very new at this.
ps. how do you make pallet boxes for potatoes? will you be showing us?
Doozee, I will definitely post about them when we make them!
Re the potatoes – try different varieties. I have tried many and most are either a total failure or disappointing. But Red Dale is a winner for us. Every year. You have different limitations from us, but I imagine there is at least one variety that loves your land.
Birgitt