2020 Journal

2020 was the season COVID-19 hit. Our early seedling work – and the work at the garden – was conducted with several precautions in response to the pandemic.
The season began with temperature extremes in the spring, followed by a hot summer and drought until quite late in the season. As a result, there was less mildew damage, the heat-loving nightshades and squashes did really well, and the tender greens suffered.
We also saw quite a bit of bunny blight, despite fencing around the beds. Thankfully, the new fence was completed at the end of the season – ahead of schedule – and not a moment too soon!

Garlic: very good, do again
Leeks: overall good, but not as stocky as previous years
Onions: Sets not great, on the small side; seeded varieties did well, but smaller than usual (temperature stress?)
Scallions: the best ever; planted in 4” rows; lasted all season!
Shallots: did well, but smaller than usual (like the onions)
Walking Onions: good scallions in spring; productive year; replanting went well

Broccoli: first crop badly discolored again (heat stress?) and heads smaller than usual, with some early aphid damage; second crop was mostly eaten by bunnies as young seedlings (even after a second seeding), those plants that survived didn’t mature
Brussels sprouts: grew well, but had tons of aphids at end of season (like almost everything this year) not contained to the leaves, so poor crop of sprouts. Sprouts were small and also had some sort of rot: research and look for resistant variety?
Cabbages: first crop: smaller than usual (temperature stress?), with lots of cabbage worms; second crop green variety was okay, but Jersey variety completely eaten by bunnies after transplanting and savoy didn’t fully mature by end of season
Cauliflower: first crop behaved strangely (temperature stress?): a few heads matured when expected, but the rest took the entire season! Also had some aphid and (striped) cabbage worm damage. Second crop was awesome!
Kohlrabi: very good, do again: planted all seedlings (more than appeared on plan)

Carrots: remay worked well for germination, but should have been left on longer; should have thinned better and left room for planting board; serious bunny damage mid-season through end of season
Celery: did fine
Parsnips: seeded twice, with zero germination (bad seed?)

Artichokes: started out well (from seed, with vernalization) but hit hard with aphids mid-season and wilted after insecticidal soap treatment; recovered with new growth later in season (some plants hit again by aphids); experimenting with wintering over – Lisa’s plant (which didn’t get aphids) in cool plant room, 2 bare-rooted plants from garden kept indoors and 2 plants left in pots with leaf mulch in raised beds.
Basil: plants badly damaged by beetles, try Neem oil early?
Cilantro: good variety but not the best year; try alternating corners w/arugula for more sun; super cold-hardy!
Corn: new variety had good germination, good height & strong stalks, nice productive popcorn
Herbs: Thyme and Fennel did great; Oregano and Tarragon doing better than ever; Parsley was spotty. Dug/divided Sorrel, Savory, Lavender & Lemon Balm in spring. Next spring, dig/divide all Chives. Dig/replant Saffron in June (when dormant)
Nasturtiums: first seeding was spotty (too early?), so reseeded. Otherwise very good, do again. Consider planting with artichokes to attract aphids
Okra: seedlings were good; rocky start after transplanting due to cold; some plants were large and robust, others were smaller and weaker; overall, very good
Rhubarb: badly damaged by beetles; try Neem oil? Move to a sunnier spot and give fresh soil in spring
Saffron: best crop yet! Remember to dig and replant bulbs in June, when dormant
Sunflowers: leaf damage (beetles), but somewhat protected by volunteer sunchokes (which were hit even harder); matured to good-sized heads

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

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

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

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

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