March 7, The First Planting.

My small dome cabin is at the top right.

I planted a long row of peas (Witkiem Fava, Oregon Giant Snow, Monk, and Monmouth Melting Sugar along the path here. Also sprinkled in Mixed mustard greens. Along a 7 foot trellis I planted Super Sugar Snap, Golden Snow, and Maestro. I scattered 4 oz. of white clover seed all around the garden and into the woods.

The green in the center-left is the planting of bunch onions I got from the grocery store. I took 2 harvests of green onions last fall and they are ready to be used again. I've been a failure at growing onions, garlic, and leeks till now. These perennial onions grow in poor soil without care and are available fresh, year round.

The only other plant to remain a very healthy green through the winter was triple curled parsley (the flat died). I'm planning on a winter garden this year and will probably find more plants that remain green through the winter. Maybe it's just me but I think a winter time soup or stew is better with a few fresh items in it.

Retrospective

What a trying year. A late frost in April killed my first planting. Then a cold, very wet spring stunted the growth of most plants. Powdery mildew wiped out most of my peas and beans. In June and July the deer destroyed large parts of the garden. Raccoons destroyed my Cherokee popcorn. Only 1 of the 8 tomato varieties I was growing set fruit.

There were many pleasant surprises though.

Zucchino Rampicante (aka Tromboncino) squash.
Matt's Wild Cherry tomato.
Yard long beans.
Sarian strawberry from seed.
Litchi tomato.
Bunch onions purchased at the grocery store.
Cream of Saskatchewan, Melitopolski, White Sugar Lump, Gold Baby, Chat Chai, and Thai Rom Doa watermelons.
Toothache plant.
Cucuzzi edible gourd.
Kiwi Gold Raspberries.
Stevia.
Gogi berries.

I used no pesticides or other chemicals, My only fertilizer was urine/water at a 1:15 ratio. This attempt at self-sufficiency worked so well I'll do it again.

The mixed plantings in patches turned out to be a pain in upkeep. Back to planting one long row next to the garden pathways.

Water the soil, not the leaves. Old advice that I won't ignore again.

Growing peanuts in the corn patch results in very few peanuts at harvest.

Still green in January: Mizuna, Tatsoi, collards, strawberries, turnips, green onions, and parsley.

Everything likes strawberries. Next year I'll grow strawberries under a net or chicken wire.

October 21

Giant Tromboncino (aka Zuchetta) squash.

I paid no attention to the vine that went into the woods around my garden. Walking in the woods I found this 12 pound Tromboncino. Tromboncino is the most outstanding plant in this year's garden. I'll be offering seeds from this beauty in the I Dig My Garden seed trading forum.

I harvested seeds from: broom corn, Vietnamese Red amaranth, Chichiquelite, ground cherries, Lemon Drop hot peppers, Yard Long beans, Litchee tomato, and Popping sorghum.

Ocober 13

Naranjilla with ripe fruit.

I tasted the juice from one fruit--delicious. Unfortunately I can't spend 2 years to get 2-3 oz. of juice. It looks like an exotic tropical and would do well above zone 8 if treated like citrus and coffee trees.

I harvested the Carwile's peanuts and didn't even get my seed back. They seem to have powdery mildew like many of my other legumes. I need to find a cure.

Good eating. Matt's Wild Cherry tomato--mild, sweet, tomato flavor. Kiwi Gold raspberries--great flavor but too soft and crumbley to make a market berry. 3" Thai Rom Doa watermelon--few seeds, good flavor sort of like cotton candy flavor.

Mixed parsley is growing well and carefree. I'll plant lots more next year.

The Stevia (Sweet Leaf) plant I put in the garden is growing well; hope it makes it thru the winter (doubtful).

Melitopolski Watermelon

I tried growing watermelons on my poor, heavy soil for several years without success. This year I hit the jackpot--3 growing well. Cream of Saskatchewan and White Sugar Lump are growing quite well but the champ is the Melitopolski above. The main stem is 12 feet long and there are 4 side shoots 3-4 feet long. All 3 are just beginning to set fruit so it will be a while for the taste test.

August 30

Bunch onions from the grocery store. (aka Green onions, Scallions, and Welsh onions.)

Until now I've had no luck growing onions, leeks, and garlic on my poor, heavy soil. I got a couple of bags of bunch onions and used the top 2/3 for tuna fish salad. I planted the bulbs in my garden. Those beauties survived all the troubles of this year's garden and grew carefree.

These are perennial so I think I'll add a few more to my onion patch. The picture shows another package ready to plant and my all purpose planting tool, a long handle mattock. Also in the picture: some Anasazi beans with the onions and raspberries behind the onions.

Garden Destruction.

Newly harvested Zucchetta amid destroyed corn patch.

My big, beautiful Yamaha Zuma scooter was totaled by a jerk more interested in talking on a cell phone than watching traffic. It took over 2 weeks to get a settlement and buy a little scooter to take me to and from my woodland garden.

The deer took advantage of my electric fence being discharged to browse the garden and to eat my biggest Naranjilla to a stub. The raccoons took advantage of my long absence to completely destroy 3 patches of Cherokee popcorn that were almost ready.

There are still a few things growing and the Zuccetta (Italian Trombone) squash pictured above is this year's big winner for me. Young, it's better than zucchini mature like above it's a good winter squash, tho' in MHO not as good as Delicata or Butternut.

July 29

Naranjilla setting fruit.

No rain for 2 weeks and the deer have been wading in my kiddie pool/water storage and put a hole in it. I'm getting very low on water but I'll hike in with water to keep this beauty (and 2 others) alive.

The deer zapper fence around the garden continues to work. Alas, the beans that I saved may die from lack of water.

My Triumph strawberry plant has begun producing several ripe, delicious berries a week. Hope it throws off some runners later so I can propagate it. The Litchee Tomatoes are fruiting well and have a nice taste like a cross between a cherry and a tomato. Like the Naranjilla it seems unbothered by pests and disease. Both are keepers and I'll have seeds from both to trade.

July 21

Volunteers

I love volunteers. Lots of volunteers this year, chichiquelite, ground cherry, basil, New Zealand spinach, the best though, is the sorghum growing in the bottom left of the picture. The sorghum I planted just didn't do much; the sorghum growing from under the bird feeder is doing great. Also in the picture: On the right, Sweat Dumpling Delicata from a squash I bought at WalMart; Cherokee Popcorn grown from last years seeds, and a Zucchetta Rampicante (Tromboncino) squash headed for the woods.

I got the electric fence up and it's working (so far). No deer damage on this visit and many plants like beans and okra look to recover.

Ate a ripe, sun-warmed, Triumph strawberry--Wonderful!

Ate the first ripe Litchi Tomato (Baker Creek)--tasty, but not, IMHO, as delicious as Ground Cherries.