End of Summer!

Well, I went the entire summer without writing a single post.  I should be ashamed!  My  gardens are almost empty, the remaining peppers plants and broccoli plants have survived minor frosts and the threat of frosts and are still bearing fruit!  My greens and cold plants are doing well also.  The onions that did not do well this summer are suddenly sprouting even though I thought I pulled them all.  So in a bit I should have some new onions.

Over all, I consider this a learning summer.  Just like last winter my hydroponics was a learning experience as well.  I still plan on increasing my beds next summer because I am going to make some big changes in how I plant.

For this fall, I plant on filling the beds with leaves and then spreading some horse manure on top and maybe in the very early spring, covering them with black plastic.  I also have bins of garden and kitchen waste sitting out behind my shed in the hopes that when I open them in the spring, they will be compost.

I planted my first bed with peas, lettuce, Swiss chard, kale, cabbage and onions.  My peas were great.  My lettuce, excellent.  I am still picking Swiss chard and kale (and freezing it).  My cabbage did sort of alright.  Some more than others.  I think that there was a lack of sun and maybe some overcrowding.  The onions would have done better and probably the cabbage as well.

I almost forgot, I also planted carrots and beets.  Beets did not do well and the carrots, well a few were very nice but most, not so much.

My two 4 x 12 beds were also kind of interesting.  My green beans did outstanding.  I was picking a lot and eating them every day.  My peppers were quickly overshadowed by the tomatoes and beans.  Egg plant, boo hiss!  My basil did very well.  Tomatoes, who knows?  I completely messed up with them.  Like I said it was a learning experience.

I never did get the tomatoes staked.  I went everywhere and no one had any garden netting in my town.  So by the time I decided I would stake them with cages, it was way too late.  As a result, I lost tons of tomatoes because it was a mess getting in there and they were all being eaten as they sat on the ground.    What I did learn is that next year the tomatoes will be in their own beds and will be staked the day they are planted!

Because I started so many plants the spring in my basement, I was thinking of adding beds.  But I wasn't sure how the beds would do because of the nearby tree.  I had it trimmed last fall and was hoping that it was enough to allow my garden to grow, but until I was sure, I didn't want to over do it in the yard.  So one day I was visiting my sister's restaurant and there on her stage were about 10 5 gallon buckets with lids.  So I brought them home and with the help of my grandson, we drilled holes in the bottoms and filled them with dirt.  I planted some squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, pole beans, cherry tomatoes, and basil.

My daughter liked the idea so much she got a bunch of buckets and planted them with lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers and a green pepper.

Now, I had mixed results with my buckets, too.  The green pole beans went crazy!  My cherry tomatoes went crazy!  My basil loved the buckets.  The 5 cucumbers I got were round!  So were my daughter's.  My squash kept falling off the vines and my tomatoes just turned brown and died.  My daughter's lettuce was great and she got brocoli and beans.  Not much on her pepper and her tomatoes did do better than mine.

In the process of driving one day, I found another city yard full of buckets and beds.  I returned to his yard several times and have decided next spring I will actually park my car and go talk to him.  His tomatoes were all in buckets in cages (self made out of fencing).

I also put a couple of thorn-less blackberries in some buckets.  I am not sure how I feel about them, though.  Garden Girl on You Tube said she had hers in containers, but I am worried about them over the winter.  I will probably move them into the shed for a little bit more protection from our Michigan Winter.  In the spring, not sure if I will keep them in buckets or plant them somewhere in my yard.

I am also considering have the tree cut down.  I do have more trees in my yard, my front yard has 2 large maples and I have a maple next to my house.  My neighbors all have large trees (this is an old neighborhood) so my actual house will still get shade, but removing this monster will open up my back yard enough so that I can actually get enough sun for my gardens.

So, now I will spend the winter thinking about my yard.  Planning what I will put in the beds and where I will put my new beds.