Garden wrap up. On October 23 (!) I harvested another quart of green beans for the freezer, the rest of the carrots, more cherry tomatoes, and the 6 green romas that are big enough to eat (see above). Ripening the tomatoes with apples in brown bags. I can't believe we are coming up on November next week and I am still harvesting! There are a few more romas coming along, and lots of baby green beans too! So here is the summary for this years garden:
- Lettuce: success! plant more next year...not all at once, do some succession plantings.
- Peas: mostly a failure. not even enough for a meal. plant earlier? or just forget it?
- Zucchini: one good zucchini, and a bunch that got started but the heat was too much for them. Try again? Maybe a different cultivar?
- Cherry tomatoes: great success. the kids loved the orange ones from the farmers market this year too...get some of those next year?
- Roma tomatoes: success. don't plan vacation for the week they all ripen! (ha)
- Herbs: basil quite successful and lots of pesto in my freezer. That was our only herb this year. Next year add cilantro at a minimum so we can make salsa!
- Strawberries: plants grew gangbusters, very few berries. We'll see if we get some later this fall or if we get a good crop next year. Jury is still out.
- Pole beans: success once they started to bloom. My July 1 maturation date was more like Sept 10. But I'd grow them again just the same.
- Carrots: fair. We got some carrots but they didn't do as well as I hoped. Try a different cultivar next year!
Also think about for next year: scallions? blueberry bushes? watermelon? Oh, so much to think about! But for the first year out, I am really pleased by the garden, by how much joy it brought me, and for the produce. My farmers market doesn't need to fear losing me as a customer any time soon, though. Every little bit of local is good...whether it is backyard local or farm market local. It was a great summer of fruits and vegetables. Hurrah!
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