Notes to the Future

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