On 2 Sep 2009 12:39:20 GMT, General Schvantzkoph
wrote:

On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:20:45 -0600, Suzanne D. wrote:

"General Schvantzkoph" wrote in message
My corn was pathetic this year, the biggest ear was less than 2 inches
long.

I noticed you hadn't done any updates lately. I guess it didn't really
work out, then? I never got around to getting my pumpkins in, so mine
was a "two sisters" deal. My Chires baby corn did okay, but the sweet
corn pollinated too early, so many of the kernels ended up not
developing. The ears were from 4-8 inches long, and while a few of them
were nearly complete, most were comically random. (The kids loved
eating the individual big, fat, yellow kernels on each ear!) The corn
field made for good grazing outside, but we never had enough to make it
inside. (Of course, with four kids who LOVE garden vegetables, a lot of
things never make it to the house!)

The beans, I didn't pick at all. Just let the seeds drop. We'll
probably have some volunteers next year. I've since mowed the entire
field down, and will plant clover and alfalfa there soon. --S.

I got the same results with my three sisters plantings as I did with my
conventional plantings. The corn plants were four or five feet tall in
both cases but the ears were tiny. My bean plants were eaten by insects.
The squash plants are large but they produced no squash. In the rest of
my garden I got a few peas but not a lot. The cucumber plants were all
eaten by insects, in past years I got lots of cucumbers. My carrots are
tiny also, but bigger than last year. The only things that were a roaring
success this year were strawberries and blueberries. I still have
blueberries, the bushes have been bearing since the end of June and they
are still going. I also still have the occasional strawberry. This is the
first year that I've gotten any strawberries, I credit the chicken wire
strawberry hats that I put on the plants. My tomatoes all came down with
the blight, however I was able to save them with Agway's fruit tree spray
which contains a broad spectrum fungicide. I'm saying goodbye to organic
farming, next year I going to Agway and get whatever fungicides,
insecticides and fertilizers they suggest.

Don't give up - tomato blight was a problem for lots of areas this
year. Just plant your tomatoes in another location for a few years.

Beans like a lot of water - so do cukes. Neither like it too hot so
plant them early and don't expect them to be producing in mid July.
Insects won't bother healthy plants very much.

Carrots, potatoes etc need loose soil. I get bigger potatoes when I
grow them in pots - same with carrots. When I used my neighbors well
tilled garden, I got normal sized root crops.

There are lots of organic fertilizers you can buy or make on your own.
I used to use an organic liquid that seemed similar to my neighbors
Miracle Grow and I had good results with the tomatoes, which like lots
of food. Like every 2-3 weeks.

This year I played with liquid seaweed and did okay, althtough I
haven't been diligent. I also bought bat gauno which is still
unopened. As we baseball fans say, there's always next year.