2020 Journal

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