Robbins Farm Garden

A Cooperative Learning Project

Notes to the Future

2014 Flowers, Grains, etc. (end of season notes)

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Borage: self-seeded plants did well between tomatoes – grow with tomatoes
Herb Beds: generally a good season, uprooted plants survived replanting – tweak plan & crops
Nasturtium: early aphids did a lot of damage – give less space & treat aphids asap
Okra: great variety: good yield, flavor & length of season, black plastic good – top plants for branching?
Sunflowers: good crop, hit by rust or fungus (but less than last year) – remove affected leaves asap
Three Sisters bed: better plan than last year, more room for squash – add structure, plant corn in grid (9”)
Rhubarb: transplanted to sunnier location in spring, more productive than last year

2014 Greens (end of season notes)

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Arugula: sad 1st planting, later plantings (including zucchini bed) better – more sun next year, grow as mesclun?
Basil: awesome on all counts, seedlings & placement perfect
Celery: overall success, worked well with Beets, blanching was helpful – focus on improving flavor & texture
Chard & Bok Choi: harvested from same plants all season – broadcast on ends of bed
Cilantro: 3 sections well-timed – give less space & replant first section for 4th planting
Kales & Collards: great again, but hit with aphids late in season – spray @ first sign of aphids
Lettuce: mostly perfect (Little Gem, Black Seeded Simpson, Red Salad Bowl, Pirat & New Red Fire good) – try a green salad bowl variety, leave space for planting board, transplant into Bush Bean bed again, seed more evenly & thin better
Mesclun: not working for us again – just say no or replace with arugula, mizuna & mustard
Mustard: great variety & amount – grow as part of a mesclun mix?
Spinach: Emu not available, varieties grown were less reliable, fewer productive plants – try to get Emu

2014 Nightshades (end of season notes)

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Slow, shaky start for seedlings due to cold conditions – start seedlings in warmer place

Eggplant: slow with low yield – find early prolific varieties (Mangan, Galine), fertilize more, black plastic?
Peppers: most did well, despite vandal damage – grow greater variety of types
Tomatoes: best yield to date, good mix of types, resistant varieties did best, red plastic and CDs worked well – consider taller, better support structure next year, don’t plant sickly seedlings
Cherry types: grow Sun Gold & Super Sweet 100 again, possibly grow Green Grape again
Sauce types: probably grow Amish Paste & Verona again, grew well, but some had a hard interior
Standard types: grow Ramapo, Red October & Bolseno again (2 plants each), maybe grow Pink Beauty (sweet & productive, but crapped out early) & Druzba (productive, but one plant hit by disease)
Specialty types: Green Zebra & Red Zebra did badly, again – find a resistant variety
Tomatillos: purple and green varieties did well, slightly smaller fruit – grow just green?

2014 Root Crops (end of season notes)

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Beets: did better this year, but still not big enough, some leaf minor problems, second harvest a bust
Carrots: excellent early crop (rows were farther apart), late crop didn’t have time to mature – consider replacing second planting with a faster-growing crop?
Jerusalem Artichokes: very attractive and productive – reduce space allotment
Parsnips: most did well, some uneven germination, transplanted seedlings grew but split, overwintered small plants – overseed and thin successively
Potatoes: green sprouting worked great, Purple Viking was worth the wait, Yukon Gold underperformed, lost a few red & gold plants to rot
Sweet Potatoes: received ½ order (supplier shortage), slow start due to cold, disappointing yield (both varieties) – try new vendor and/or varieties?
Salad Turnips: did well, wormier than last year – try not growing near fence in late season
Turnips: did well after garlic, less grub damage – thin more aggressively

2014 Squashes (end of season notes)

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Squash Vine Borers and Mildew still problematic – frequent surgical intervention and overplanting (to compensate for plant loss from borers) and focus on productive, mildew-resistant varieties

Cucumbers: pickling type did better – try different standard type
Delicata Squash: Sugar Dumpling more productive, standard variety squashes small
Kabocha Squash: serious mildew issues, disappointing yield – try resistant variety
Melons: uneven germination, transplanted, major mildew, difficult to tell when ripe – failed experiment?
Pumpkins: unimpressive germination and yield, produced wide range of sizes
Yellow Squash: shorter season & more mildew than zucchini – try Success PM (mildew resistant)
Watermelons: uneven germination, transplanted, low yield
Zucchini: excellent variety: mildew resistant, early, productive and very hardy
Zucchino Squash: poor germination, 7 seeds = 1 plant w/1 huge squash, mildew killed plant before ripe

2014 Legumes (end of season notes)

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Bush Beans: Dragon Tongue & Rocdor great – try new green variety
Fava Beans: poor yield, hit hard by aphids (spray at first sign) & rust or fungus – try different variety?
Peas: all 3 early varieties triumphed, poor germination for late variety – position snap peas in middle next spring, try Sugar Sprint in fall
Pole Beans: perfect planting time, excellent harvest – plant purples & make structure all reachable
Purple Pole Beans: excellent on archway – plant some between other types of pole beans
Soybeans: short harvest window this year – try another variety?