In article ,
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.

Hmmm ...

The year I started to go organic, I had I terrible bug infested garden.
The next year not as bad, still had bug problems. The third year and
after, few bug problems of any major significance. I did have some bad
bugs eating my lettuce this year - ripped off the bad leaves - the next
week the plants was covered with ladybugs and I shortly after that I had
the healthiest looking lettuce.

Today my garden has a few frogs, spiders, ladybugs and worms, all of
which I now welcome with a smile. I never disturb those large spider
webs between my tomato plants. I no longer have the infamous tomato horn
worms. My tomatoes have never looked or tasted better. I have seen a few
japanese beetles but not enough for major damage. It takes time for the
slow moving good bugs to move in.

This also applies to the lawn as well as the garden. It takes much more
work to have an organic lawn than the garden. However, it is worth it in
the long run. It will take three to five years to get away from the lawn
chemicals.

My corn did not grow well also, due to cooler temperatures than normal,
not bugs.

Enjoy Life ... Dan

--
Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.