Robbins Farm Garden

Broccoli spring crop had smaller than usual heads with good color; fall crop also had smaller heads, but with perfect color; no aphid damage on either crop; harvested stems on last gardening day.
Brussels sprouts variety was new, Divino produced small, but otherwise clean and uniform sprouts; there were lots of cabbage worms and a few plants required support, row near Jerusalem artichokes was stunted, try more regular feeding and topping plants earlier?
Cabbage spring crop was good, with lots of cabbage worms (use row cover next year?), red variety not as small as usual; fall crop also good, Alcosa savoy was smaller than Famosa and took longer to mature (go back to only Famosa?), Jersey type didn’t germinate well (possibly too few seeds planted), yielding fewer heads.
Cauliflower spring crop mostly did well, but a few were button heads (temperature extremes?); fall crop was great with a few somewhat smaller heads, some cabbage worm problems.
Collards failed to thrive, look for a more vigorous variety or go back to Georgia from High Mowing?
Gai Lan (new crop): spring crop was shaded by Brussels sprouts, fall crop was probably planted too late; try growing in another location and consider changing planting time.
Kales both had poor germination despite reseeding (weather?), barely had enough plants yet they rallied and produced normally later in the season.
Kohlrabi first crop started indoors planted denser than plan but did well, second crop seeded outdoors got off to slow start in shade of kale and volunteer marigold, many didn’t mature in time.

Carrots planting 3 crops spread out harvest well: first on 4/29 (needed some infill), second on 6/3 and third on 7/8 (after beets); germinated well with board technique and produced well but weren’t thinned properly, try to thin better next year.
Celery was enormous and beautiful (lots of rain), may have blanched the plants too early (7/22) causing some rot to develop, wait a few more weeks next year for best celery ever!
Parsnips some problems with germination, infill seeding was done between rows of first planting (maybe should be done earlier and regardless of initial germination), plants generally did well, sifting soil produced better roots – worth the effort.

Asparagus growing really well, tall and bushy, keep on same fertilizer schedule, enjoyed our first year of harvests the first 3 weeks of May!
Corn variety was a new indigenous flint type, was not terribly sturdy and produced only a half-dozen ears total; look into ways to increase pollination and vigor of plants; fence plants early to avoid breakage from weight of bean plants; saved seed and have left-over seed for next year.
Marigolds saved seed didn’t germinate, emergency buy of mixed varieties resulted in many enormous plants, buy compact variety for next year and save seed. Plant in tomato and eggplant beds and in back of squash beds, probably not in pepper bed.
Nasturtiums did great again, one patch lasted into November!
Okra a few plants succumbed to cool wet weather after transplanting (consider a cloche next year) and bunny predation during hardening off, but plants grew reasonably well and were productive.
Saffron did well, harvested over 4 weeks!
Sesame seed started too early and planted in garden too early, beautiful seedlings all died… try again and treat more like okra (plant late and cover in cold wet weather).
Sunflowers had good germination and produced reasonably well, but were in competition with the left-over Jerusalem artichokes still sprouting in the bed from last year.

Arugula first planting came up well and bolted (as usual) in the heat, later plantings lasted through the end of the season, make sure bed gets regular fertilizer.
Bok Choy spring crop did well but new variety Shanghai bolted early (only grow in fall?); fall crop did well, look for place to transplant extra seedlings (lettuce bed?), make sure it gets enough fertilizer.
Lettuce was a mixed bag again, first 2 plantings from seedlings were perfect, early summer plantings had terrible germination (too hot?), later plantings produced decent heads (especially green star) in October; consider using board method to cover seed as done in the last plantings along with shade cloth.
Malabar Spinach did well on four corners of tomato structure, went all the way to the top!
Mustard both spring crops did well, fall crops didn’t germinate as well and weren’t given enough light and attention to thrive.
Perpetual Spinach had poor germination, plants not robust and hit by small dark-rimmed holes in leaves in late summer, did not recover, give better soil and fertilize more?
Shiso grew green and red in tomato bed (in place of a basil plant), was decorative and interesting, but not all that popular.
Spinach spring crop was only seeded indoors, did better without outdoor seeding, lost a few plants (not sure why), could plant 6 6-packs and plant rows closer, forgot insect cover with a sticky trap inside but no major damage, protect next year; fall crop failed though there was some initial germination and it was covered, probably needs to be started earlier and indoors to be viable.
Swiss Chard started strong, was well thinned, but not covered for leaf miner, had a reasonable mid-season, hit by small dark-rimmed holes in leaves in late summer, didn’t fully recover, fertilize more? One errant plant that survived from the previous year was exceptionally strong and productive.
Turkish Rocket (new crop) started from seed and planted 3 seedlings in herb bed, which grew but didn’t produce florets, no harvest this year, see what comes up next year.

Basil variety with disease resistances did well, though had some insect damage; lasted until mid-October.
Chives: Chinese and Garlic types weak again this year, look into soil requirements and consider moving. Common type did really well, new division from Lisa last year.
Cilantro planted in gaps between groupings of summer squashes worked (especially if squashes are planted nearer sides of bed), staggering plantings worked well (maybe go to 5/1, 6/1, 7/1, 8/1) though they were shaded out in mid-season, harvested through mid-November!
Fennel was huge and amazing, also has smaller plants to fill in next year.
Lavender did okay, but didn’t have a heavy bloom this year.
Lemon Balm did well.
Lemongrass both plants did extremely well, harvested fronds in summer and fall, then dug and divided plants into leaves (bundled by Carol) and bulb ends for later use. Grow again!
Lemon Verbena did well in tomato bed (substituting for a basil) but should have been pruned (like the basil).
Lovage recovered nicely from dividing and transplanting in 2021, divide and replant next year.
Marjoram did well, seemed to die back early this year.
Mints: peppermint and spearmint were replanted with new seedlings and fresh soil in spring; both grew well.
Oregano doing well, spreading a bit.
Parsley (only grew flat-leaf) plants were amazing, especially those in north herb bed.
Rosemary planted small seedling from LexFarm, took half the season to reach normal seedling size!
Sage was cut back hard again in spring, came back beautifully!
Savory (Summer) grew well, died back in early fall.
Savory (Winter) grew well, produced a fresh plant to use next spring.
Sorrel doing well, divide next spring.
Tarragon doing okay, never has been robust, look into soil needs?
Thyme growing amazingly well, trying to take over herb bed!

Bush Beans had a good year, required some reseeding, but produced through the first pole bean harvest; green produced terrifically, purple did well, Dragon’s Tongue had a super bad year (consider going back to Baker Creek?).
Fava Beans fared better, but still need work; new variety was started indoors (possibly earlier?), but were planted in a bad spot in the garden and were overwatered from a leaky soaker hose; hit by aphids but we didn’t spray this year, try underplanting with nasturtiums next year (probably need to start indoors).
Lima Beans (pole variety) grown on pea trellis this year, planted at same time as bush beans, grew well and produced beautiful beans over a long period, give more space next year?
Peas (spring planting) all types had great germination and produced well, shell type was hard to tell from other varieties, try putting snow peas in the middle next year and mark divisions more clearly.
Peas (fall planting) had poor germination due to heat, virtually no harvest.
Pole Beans had good germination except for Romano type in center (mostly washed away by flooding), new trellis stringing worked perfectly, purple type was first and fabulous, green type followed and did not disappoint, hoping to have Garden of Eden seed next year!
Scarlet Runner Beans had great germination, grew well on arbor, pretty and attracted hummingbirds, overall harvest (mostly dried beans) good.
Soybeans had spotty germination again, thinned/transplanted seedlings; some plants produced spectacularly well, consider giving them all a solid start by sprouting indoors.