Arugula: first crop bolted (as usual); second crop planted super dense and took a very long time to mature; third crop was fine
Bok Choy: first crop did okay, but bolted in heat before fully maturing; second crop mostly matured; try fertilizing more; new green variety (2nd planting) more attractive
Collards: transplanted as seedlings due to planting mistake, but recovered and did fine
Kales: lots of bunny, cabbage worm and aphid damage this year, but still did okay; try ladybugs or lacewings next year?
Lettuce: new variety (Optima) not great; first crops (from seedlings) did well; summer crops did particularly poorly, stunted and rotten (keep well thinned and use shade cloth on bed after solstice); late lettuce did really well, especially in bean bed, transplanting went well and were able to harvest until the end with plastic tunnels. New Red Fire and Little Gem the most cold-tolerant
Mustard: very good, do again; alternating rows for second planting and planting dates worked well; green variety super cold-tolerant
Perpetual Spinach: very good, do again; very productive and long-lived; every other week harvest (with Swiss chard) worked well
Swiss Chard: best yet; feeding schedule good; covered a bit late in spring, but no leaf miner damage (sticky traps?); productive and long-lived
2020 Legumes (end of season notes)
Beans (bush): Dragon’s Tongue died back too quickly (earlier than others), possibly shaded by tall soybeans? Green variety did better, but still died back earlier than usual
Beans (dried): germinated and vined well, but matured unevenly so some were still green for first frost and were lost for harvest; those that were harvested were lovely
Beans (pole): all did well, but Romano type wasn’t a proper Romano; alternating colors worked great for identifying varieties; TV was earliest, others about 2 weeks later. Kentucky Wonder better of the green varieties (less stringy than Blue Lake); maybe grow with Kentucky Blue next year
Fava Beans: slow start, but did well; some aphid damage, controlled with careful insecticidal soap application; sadly, most of crop picked by vandals, with a few strewn on paths
Lima Beans: needed some reseeding, but were productive; research optimum plant spacing
Peas: Spring crop: did well, except for bad germination on Tall Telephone; trellis particularly successful. Fall crop: germination good, especially under 2 layers of shade cloth; sadly, all were eaten by bunnies
Soybeans: new variety very tall; did well, but had some beetle damage
2020 Nightshades (end of season notes)
Eggplants: a solid year overall, productive and good-quality; the best Italian type yet (Galine) though some had worms; White Egg slower than usual; some leaf damage
Peppers: reasonable year overall, significant leaf damage (beetles?); Lunchbox, King Arthur, Serrano, Thai and Cheyenne productive; Poblano not as productive; Hot Lemon slow but large; consider topping/pruning taller varieties to reduce immature peppers left at end of season
Potatoes: blue most productive, then red, then gold; blue slowest, red fastest; some wilt, but all plants produced; a little beetle damage
Tomatillos: bad early beetle damage, but checking/treating every few days for a few weeks got them through; topped plants end of August, but still had tons of small ones at end of season; research pruning, topping, put on fertilizing schedule next year
Tomatoes: overall very good; don’t plant Sun Gold, Supersweet 100 and Juliet together next year; snakes (dangling from strings) and marigolds worked well (didn’t need CDs). Darkstar had a different type of disease (look up); Brandy Boy did well; look for a new paste type; Ramapo seemed determinate this year; a few seedlings got mixed up as seedlings; smaller-fruited varieties did best
2020 Root Crops (end of season notes)
Beets: first crop: very good, do again; second crop: should have been planted 2-3 weeks earlier (put in where fall broccoli should have been planted) but was super cold-hardy
Jerusalem Artichokes: bad bug damage to leaves early and some mildew, but good flowers; not as productive harvest, with lots of stringy tubers; consider buying fresh stock for replanting in spring
Radishes: first crop ok, but bolted in heat; second crop not as robust as first, try fertilizing more?
Rutabagas: spotty germination (cover seed with remay next year); transplanting seedlings set back timing, but worked well
Sweet Potatoes: seed potatoes planted too closely in tray (slips came up together and couldn’t tell different types apart); harvested tubers were fantastic: large and numerous, despite bunny damage to leaves
Turnips (cooking): very good, do again
Turnips (salad): first and second crops: very good, do again
2020 Squash Family (end of season notes)
Butternuts: Metro PMR productive and larger than usual, feeding schedule good; trimming/thinning of extra leaves helped with air flow and Serenade helped with mildew; new variety (Honeynut) was stunted (probably from bad real estate in 3 sisters bed), try on trellis next year; think about no squash in 3-sisters bed
Cucumbers: productive and healthy until premature die-off from wilt: look for wilt-resistant varieties, research bugs for potential traps
Delicata: more productive than usual; fewer vine borers (alternating planting with butternuts and sticky traps worked well); Serenade helped with mildew; feeding schedule good; long harvest season
Pumpkins: productive and larger than usual (one was enormous); less borer damage due to sticky traps; feeding schedule good
Summer Squash: not as productive as zukes; try fertilizing more; Serenade helped with mildew; vine borer damage not as bad due to sticky traps; look for new variety?
Zucchini: very good, do again; vine borer damage not as bad with sticky traps
Mid-season – a time of transition
Mid-summer is a time of transition in the garden. Today we pulled the spring peas and replanted the area with pole beans. (We use the same tall trellis for both.)
The garlic was also harvested today and replanted with turnip seed. Last week, we harvested the first spring broccoli and cabbage, and the last of the fava beans, which were replanted with fall peas.
Harvesting of our heat-loving nightshades (eggplant, peppers and tomatoes), okra and squashes (cucumbers, crooknecks and zucchini) has begun and the first of our bush beans were ready today.
Our everbearing greens (collards, kale, perpetual spinach and Swiss chard) are in full production and the sequentially-planted greens (arugula, mustard and lettuce) have been providing continuous harvests.
Next week, the first of the potatoes should be ready for harvest. That will herald replanting with fall brassica seedlings (broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower) seeded last month in our nursery bed.
The last of our spring salad turnips and the first of our onions were also harvested today. There is much to look forward to, and it’s feeling like the garden is in full swing!
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