On Sat, 26 Nov 2011 20:55:51 -0500, Ohioguy wrote:

This year I tried cabbage, sweet corn, eggplant, radishes, Brussels
Sprouts and tomatoes.

Cabbage did fantastic, so I may try it again next year. (it was the
first time in my life that I can remember growing cabbage)

I planted three varieties of sweet corn, including a red variety.
Unfortunately, I planted the plants too close together. I had to cut
down about half of the plants to let more light and air penetrate. In
the end, I had about half the harvest I had expected, but it was great
to have fresh sweet corn.

Eggplant did well, but as I remembered, the taste wasn't that great.
Radishes were ok, but hotter than I hoped. Brussels Sprouts grew very
slowly at first, then took off into the fall.

The tomatoes were the greatest disappointment. I grew seeds from a
packet that said it had 20 different heirloom beefsteak varieties.
Instead, I mostly ended up with smallish 1.5" orange tomatoes. Only 1
plant out of 14 had anything that would approach beefsteak. Next year I
may just buy a couple of plants, even though they mostly have the same 8
or so varieties available everywhere.

How about your garden - how did it do?

Packets of a variety of seeds are always a crap shoot. And unless you
plant all of the them at once you are never sure that you are getting
all the variety promised. Instead, buy individual packets of ones
that look interesting to you. Seeds last for several years.

If you can't find what you are looking for locally there are dozens of
companies that sell on the Internet. One of my favorites is
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/index.html

An interesting one is
http://www.heirloomseeds.com/

Another source is http://www.totallytomato.com/

My early garden did well, cabbage, broccoli, chard. The lettuces and
herbs that I grow in raised beds did well too. Lettuce is another
thing that I do not buy in a variety packet. I only plant a few at
the time and I want to select the varieties to plant.

Summer crops did pretty well. Tomatoes got blight but the "Viva
Italias" kept producing until it got too cold. I still have a handful
on the counter that I can put in salads. Got swamped with peppers,
especially the hot varieties. Eggplant did ok. Watermelon did well.
I got one 35 pound one and several smaller ones. A turtle ate the
only cantaloupe. Cukes did OK.

This coming year I am only going to plant a few varieties of tomatoes.
I am thinking Viva Italia, Better Boy, Early Girl and Jelly Bean. I
may add Brandy Boy and Yellow Jelly Bean. I plant lots of Viva Italia
since I make sauces and can with them. The others are for eating and
I don't want to get over run with them. Of course I can give some to
my neighbors. I think I am about the only one on the street who
gardens. I have set out my garlic and have sprouts.

Got my first seed catalogues last week. There are so many thing that
I would like to plant, but shall restrict myself to my tried and true.
I need to work on succession planting for the things we like to eat
but do not preserve well. Ten heads of broccoli at once is just too
much. DH does not like frozen broccoli and I have not been successful
in making sauerkraut from the abundance of cabbage. I really need to
clean out my greenhouse so I can start my seeds in February if not
before. Right now it has my dwarf citrus trees, bay plant, rosemary
that I am waiting for a place to plant outside, and my Stevia. I need
to keep a close eye on the lemon and lime since the Meyer lemon has a
fruit already and more blossoms and the Mexican lime is starting to
bloom.

Thank goodness I have a few months to catch up on things in the house.
--
USA
North Carolina Foothills
USDA Zone 7a
To find your extension office
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html

barbie gee wrote:
store-bought tomato plants went in a bit too late in the season. Lot's of
green tomatoes left on the vines before the first frost.

beets from seed were laughable. about the size of my thumb above the
last joint. I am leaving them in the ground for the winter. Maybe
something will come of them next year?

Swiss chard from seed is only now coming into its own. Had a batch
of it last week and it was delicious. We'll see how long it keeps
growing.
Green beans (bush) from seed are still a mystery to me. I got a few
handfuls of beans, twice. Don't know if I should have done some
succession planting with that, or what.

The one planting ought to keep producing through your growing season
provided it is not a commercial variety selected for bearing (and
harvesting) in one go.


I'm mostly a hit-or-miss farmer; small square-foot plot. Not nearly
as much success as I hoped for, but again, I started everything kind
of late. Next year I'll start sooner with seed sprouting.

In general, I don't really have quite as much sun as I should, so the
veggies suffer. I've optimized the plot location for as much sun as
possible, but it's not really enough. A tree trimming may be in
order for next year, although for the size tree, it will be pricey.

Zone 5
Chicago proper

If you cannot get enough sun then concentrate on growing the leafy veges
that don't need as much sun as those that fruit such as tomatoes.

David

In article . pbz,
barbie gee wrote:

store-bought tomato plants went in a bit too late in the season. Lot's of
green tomatoes left on the vines before the first frost.

beets from seed were laughable. about the size of my thumb above the last
joint. I am leaving them in the ground for the winter. Maybe something
will come of them next year?

Swiss chard from seed is only now coming into its own. Had a batch of it
last week and it was delicious. We'll see how long it keeps growing.

Green beans (bush) from seed are still a mystery to me. I got a few
handfuls of beans, twice. Don't know if I should have done some
succession planting with that, or what.

If you pick your beans between 4" to 6" in length, they will keep
setting new beans all season, providing you have sufficient sun.

I'm mostly a hit-or-miss farmer; small square-foot plot. Not nearly as
much success as I hoped for, but again, I started everything kind of late.
Next year I'll start sooner with seed sprouting.

In general, I don't really have quite as much sun as I should, so the
veggies suffer. I've optimized the plot location for as much sun as
possible, but it's not really enough. A tree trimming may be in order for
next year, although for the size tree, it will be pricey.

Zone 5
Chicago proper

How many hours of full sun? I get 5 - 6 hr, plus another hr or 2 of
broken sun. While I don't get large crops, I do get tomatoes and corn,
even with the cool summer that we had this year. I know that I'll be
planting Stupice, Brandywine, Juliet, and Blond Kopfchen tomatoes next
year. I don't know if I'll try early Girl again, I only got a few of
them.
--
- Billy

E pluribus unum
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96993722

barbie gee wrote:

beets from seed were laughable. about the size of my thumb above the last
joint. I am leaving them in the ground for the winter. Maybe something
will come of them next year?

some might make it and then go to seed, but
more likely they'll just rot in the ground.
i'd harvest them and eat them, even if small
they are still good to eat.

....
Green beans (bush) from seed are still a mystery to me. I got a few
handfuls of beans, twice. Don't know if I should have done some
succession planting with that, or what.

do you recall the variety or still have
the seed package?


I'm mostly a hit-or-miss farmer; small square-foot plot. Not nearly as
much success as I hoped for, but again, I started everything kind of late.
Next year I'll start sooner with seed sprouting.

In general, I don't really have quite as much sun as I should, so the
veggies suffer. I've optimized the plot location for as much sun as
possible, but it's not really enough. A tree trimming may be in order for
next year, although for the size tree, it will be pricey.

Zone 5
Chicago proper

oh, yes, that is going to make a lot of
difference. in the meantime leafy vegetables
and other veggie plants aimed more towards
partial shade will improve things somewhat.
we don't have much shade here so i can't
recommend much other than the leafy greens
(lettuces, spinach) or rhubarb (which would
take over a small garden). some dry beans
have done ok here when they were shaded but
that's hardly worth the space in a small
garden. hmm, perhaps smaller tomato varieties,
like cherry tomatoes, and the patio varieties.


songbird