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nadcarves | 08-25-2009 09:09 PM
Can you rate your garden? Frankly, I failed.. Both potato plots are giving below normal yields..Critters getting a lot of the produce. I anticipated 80 to 90 pounds of spuds. Including seed , make that about 30 pounds in baskets... Egg plant zilch, same with peas. Cabbage family plants bolted, tomatoes are feeding a raccoon. I've named my yard Hard Scrabble Acres..Now, we had a late Spring, and a cool Summer..I anticipate the same or worse next season...Am going to try starting the potato plants indoors and transplanting under covers. Spuds are normally easy to grow, bear well and provide CALORIES..Getting Russian tomatoes...shorter growing season. More cabbage family plants. staggered by two weeks before going into the ground. Four trees are going to bite the dust to give me sunlight, and larger raised bed areas. If you are not satisfied with what you have grown, look at the problems and get rid of them..Just remember one crop that softens the Hard Scrabble.....Chickens..Thanks for reading my comments, cordially NAD:smile:

Merlin | 08-25-2009 09:23 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? Lack of sufficient sunlight is definitely my problem. I have a two-car garage about 8 feet east of my garden. The far western edge of the garden does not see its first direct light until around 8:30 as this time of year. My neighbor, west of me, planted a tree in his back yard, planning to move it to his parkway. Instead, his Parkinson's caused him to fall, suffer a head injury, and die about three years ago (for which I am very sorry... however...) Now his tree is too big to move, towering about 35 feet into the air and casting shadows on my garden starting around 1:30 in the afternoon. Before 3:00, the whole garden is in shadows. I've been growing peas successfully and potatoes too. But the yields are not what they should be. Forget tomatoes, broccoli, etc.--no can do. Anytime I even mention that tree to my widow neighbor, her first response is, "Ed loved that tree so much." I guess I'll have to rent a plot somewhere else. We're too old to move. Don't know what else to do.

Tallships | 08-25-2009 09:29 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? Very good yields on everything. Ugly though because I dont do weeding.

nadcarves | 08-25-2009 10:31 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? With respect to the shade tree.Remember, the Universe helps those who help them selves..Trees:smile: have a funny way of suddenly going kaput.. You would almost think someone poured Round Up on their roots...Neighbors, being neighbors, can help by taking down the soon to be dangerous tree. I am 70, was thirty feet up in a pine tree trimming limbs. Neighbor yelled at me, something about Crazy old fool going to get killed.Tree was cut up and gone next day, good neighbors,,,,don't even mind roosters crowing, or so they say Cordially Nad

scyth | 08-25-2009 11:37 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? Well, first there was just creating the garden, as we just Moved into the place last June. Soil, alluvial clay and rock. So got out rototiller and, eight shearpins later, Had the ground kinda sorta busted up. Then came many loads of compost from the local dump, Who do have an absolutely great program for Taking all green yard waste, and instead of piling it Into the landfill, compost it and resell it to the public. So I put about 8" of that on top of the ground And rototilled again. Then, built a 7' high hogwire fence around the whole thing Because the local horned rabbits will eat you out in an evening. Mixed in with this was total hip replacement for left hip, So planting was essentially two months late. Garden is set up Ruth Stout style, with 6-12 inches Of wheatstraw mulch over everything. OK. The good news is that plant growth and health is fantastic. NO bugs to speak of. NO weeds to speak of. The bad news is that because of late planting I'm Pushing the season. Luckily, we have had a very warm, clear, dry summer Up here in the extreme NW, and its continuing. So: Carrots and beets and broccoli, just fine. Basil, dill, parsley and other annual herbs ditto. Next year is the perennial herb garden, About 25' x 25'. Zucchini, summer squash overload. Pole and bush beans and peas just starting to set pods (But remember, this is the NW), I think we might just Make it under the wire. Pumpkins everywhere. Salad garden - lettuce, radicchio, green onions - just ripping. I don't think the corn or the tomatoes (unless green) Are really gonna make it. And I doubt the cukes will either. The potatoes have taken over the universe. The fruit trees are doing well. In all, kind of a scrappy, first season garden, But I'm happy with it. scyth

SLV>GLD | 08-26-2009 12:02 AM
Re: Can you rate your garden? Scored 4 out of 10. Sad because last year was probably 7 out of 10. Potatoes got ate the eff up. Egg Plant failed for the 2nd year in a row. Plenty of tomatoes and the corn did well. Chinese okra always performs well but this year it will just become dish scrubber christmas gifts I suppose. Poblano, Red and Green Bell Peppers seem to be shaping up well for a change. Regular okra failed. Cuke/Squash plants barely producing. Did not plant any beans this year. Biggest problem is I have been working out of town and my wife can't take care of everything and the garden was not much of a priority for her.

thorgrim | 08-26-2009 01:31 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? Well my plot is very small and got off to a late start due to unusual cold and dry weather this spring. It is doing pretty well now. I would rate it as a 7 of 10. Peas, 2 bean varieties, 2 lettuce varieties, spinach, swiss chard, beets have done very well. Carrots average. Butternut squash started slow but it looks like I will get a decent yield. Started tomatoes from seed this year. Started them a few weeks later then I should have too, but I should get a decent crop. Only failure I have had was cucumbers. I tried a weird variety for fun. Armenian. Don't think I will get any. I'm going to rip them out and plant spinach. I should still get a crop. No potatoes, I just don't have the room. It seems like most people around here are having good yields though.

momopanda | 08-26-2009 01:40 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? I give myself a 5 this year. Early season was awsome, but summer has been pretty poor. Wasted 3 weeks trying to havahart the woodchuck from Hell, before resorting to what needed doing before he went through there like a weedwhacker on legs. Late blight was awful hard on tomatoes all around here. Almost no one I know got any at all, 'cept the hard core chemical users. I ended up with a few dozen only because I planted a local heirloom called Ramapo, that i bought at a tomato plant sale in June and they resisted it pretty well. Saving those seeds for certain. Not a brandywine or Roma to be found. See how fall goes.

Zilver | 08-26-2009 02:14 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? If we had to live off the garden we would be starving this year. It rained WAY to much here, this brought out the slug/snails which devoured our corn, squash & melons. When the rain stopped the Japanese beetles took over and devoured the rest. The 50 tomato plants that I started from seed looked absolutely terrific until about 2 weeks ago when the blight set in and wiped them all out..... About half of the potatoes are blighted. Peppers are looking good but are maturing slow, the beans produced well, nice cabbage heads are forming now, lettuce has been good tasting and bountiful, but the carrots failed to grow. Cucumbers are producing.... but slowly. I have to say that Overall, it's been a poor year for us in the garden, the best crops to put away for the winter did badly........:bawling:

7th trump | 08-26-2009 02:35 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? Everything went ok 10 out of 10. Even had peppers grow real good this year spite it being extremely rainy and cold. Tomatoes came in with giving a lot away. Green beans couldnt be better. Celery is doing great. Broccoli is the best this year. Potatoes are a bumper crop. So much Zuccini couldnt give it away. Pumpkins did exceptional. Acorn squash have to give away what I dont use. Still picking brussel sprouts by the bucket. Romain lettuce grew to fast to keep up. Onions did ok but thats all they do anyway. Pickles did ok for using a different variety. (still have dills from last years crop.) Grapes arent the bumber crop they were last year but they did good. Peaches I dont consider part of the garden, didnt get one peach from late frost. Apple tree is only one year old and produce two apples for being 5 ft tall.

keehah | 08-26-2009 02:37 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? scyth I've done much the same! Little further north and sandy soil in beds raised about a foot. I'll add two more 4x4 as a build up the soil. For now local city compost (mixed 50% with double dug site 'soil' would not grow much without the fertilizer. The garden beds I mixed with old compost from the lot grew great without fertilizer. Garden was a blackberry patch in May. Bare earth now as long as I keep the weeds down, digging out growing blackberry roots, and occasonal evening raids on the ground around the compost pile to keep the slugs from migrating. Lots of wasps too always in the garden. No loss or disease other than some older seed packs that did not sprout (still everything that grew was too close together). I'll have to weed the potatoes of bindweed more carefully next year. Thankfull the three trees that needed topping for more light were on my property and 'weedy' (cottonwood and broadleaf maple)

Armed.peasant | 08-26-2009 02:38 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? We also have had too much rain here. Our garden was poor at best, we did have good beans and corn, but the rain hurt everything else.

mightymanx | 08-26-2009 02:42 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? My garden was a small test run this year and did perfect very pleased with it. I am going to try winter wheat and planiting earlier along with a 100% size increase for next year.

BellevueBully | 08-26-2009 02:52 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? Sweet peppers........7/10 Hot peppers............9/10:bear_w00t: Spuds............have not harvested, but checked the odd plant....look ok. Snow Peas..............8/10 Green Beans.............8/10 Yellow Beans.............6/10 Spanish Onion............9/10:ok: Dutch Onion................6/10 Carrots.......................7/10 Zuchinni.....................8/10 Cukes........................7/10 Lettuce......................9/10:ok: Raddish.......................2/10 ?????????:thumpdown Tomatoes...................7/10 Late spring, cool wet summer in Ontario. Only one or two weeks of really good, hot :shine:. Garden did quite well for the conditions imo. No real problems with bugs or slugs. Going to break my cherry this Saturday and try some canning....peppers, beans, cukes, zukes. Cheers

scyth | 08-26-2009 10:00 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? All - Something I forgot to mention.............. Interplant Borage here and there; Fantastic bee (pollinator) attractor, and a good Herb in its own right. I've had honeybees, the native bumblebees, And mason bees ( I put up a few mason bee condos also) Working the garden from dawn to dark. Don't forget your insect friends. scyth

KiloKel | 08-26-2009 10:21 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? Here in Oregon the weather has been good, and garden showed it. I planted pumpkins from seed and they went crazy, like 20 on 5 plants. So happy I will give to the kids in my subdivision. The strawberrys did not come back very good this year, but I purchased a cantalope from the grange and it also went crazy. It has some that are as large as the pumpkins, and taste great. One plant I put in from seed and it is completly different from the one I purchased, smooth not ribed.. any ideas what it is? Planning on next year to put in another raised bed, my son built the wife a greenhouse as a senior project so will a early start next year..Good luck all.

Zusn | 08-27-2009 02:43 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? Quote:
Originally Posted by nadcarves (Post 1886410) Frankly, I failed..
I disagree, you did not fail. I don't know the first thing about gardening, but that didn't stop me from building 3 raised beds this year and planting all sorts of stuff. I figured that if anything came up, it'd be a success. My plan for this year wasn't to have perfect crops that would take off and feed my entire family through the winter. I wanted to see what works and what doesn't. I have my notebook where I document each plant I grew and how I can do it better next year. I've learned a tremendous amount already and I know I have many more years of learning to do. If a plant "fails" research why and it won't happen again. Gardening is like life, you get out of it what you put in and there's always something more to learn.

TheNocturnalEgyptian | 08-27-2009 06:22 PM
Re: Can you rate your garden? This year I pulled a couple thousand tomatoes...The vines got so heavy that they fell down, bringing their METAL trellaises with them! I had to stand them back up, pound them in with a hammer, and rig up a restraint system on the trellaise with rope! Maybe 50 Zuchinni... Some Squash... Butternut and Acorn, the two best! Lemon Tree has some small lemons on it Lime Tree, Nothing Grapefruit tree, LOADS of fruit Mango tree getting taller (Up to my neck) Pomegranite tree larger than ever before (But growing in more like a bush) Kale, Swiss Chard, Spinanch, good yield Basil, Good Yield This year was a decent year for gardening Future Needs: -Apple Tree -Black Berries against property line fence -Potato barrels

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