Are you happy with your 2015 garden?

[seedcorn]

Curious. I sit outside waiting for another rain, I looked at my garden. Seeds are slowly coming up, transplanted plants doing OK. I thought, for everything that has happened since April, not bad. Missed my early spring greens but I've had worse gardens-tomatoes, peppers, okra and sweet corn well on way. On a 1-10 scale with 10 being I'm dreaming, I give it a 7. Get my melons started and late cabbage seeds up, I'd go to a 8.

So where do you rate yours?

 

[Beekissed]

It's too early to really tell, but I'm pretty satisfied thus far. I'd rate mine as a 7 as well, but that is subject to change when I see the actual harvest. I got a late start on everything and didn't get any early greens out either but I can live with that.

I know it's pretty good because I smile when I look at it and see very little that I can do to change it right now. A few tweaks here and there, but mostly I am in a waiting mode...just waiting to see how things develop. This is a new gardening method for me, so I'm just waiting to see how or if I'll have to tweak the soil to compensate for any negative changes from the wood chip mulch.

I would have liked to get my sweet onions in the soil quicker, as they aren't recovering from the wait as well as I would have liked.

 

[baymule]

I started at zero. Anything above zero is a bonus. So far looks like peas, cow peas to y'all, are going to do well. The Thai #3 long beans I've grown for 6 years are climbing the hay twine trellis, as are the Violet's Multicolored butterbeans. Tomatoes didn't get staked, some have BER, but at least I'll get some tomatoes. Multiplying onions are multiplying. Corn was stunted by cold, then drowned, now sickly and sad. Beans I got from Bluejay77 are blooming. Marconi peppers have peppers on them. Okra is stunted, maybe 6" high. Squash looks like crap. Never got cucumbers planted and I'm out of pickles. Didn't plant watermelon either. Weeds are lush, tall, thick and healthy. A number above zero? Hmmm..... maybe a 3.

 

[thistlebloom]

It's a little early to tell, but I think I'd give mine a 6 so far. The weeds I give a 9, and I'm hopeful that this is the week that I will be organized enough to get out there around 5 a.m. and get an hour of weeding in daily before I have to get to work.
The weeds should really get a 10 but I'm being spiteful.

 

[digitS']

Far from fruition, Seedcorn.

In the leaf: nice scallions from sets all but gone, I always feel like I'm cheating since they are essentially last year's plants grown by someone else. Spring greens that were transplanted out did well and are gone. Greens from sown seed have come off quickly but many are still growing well. That includes the spinach, late-sown and just now ready to harvest.

Benjamin Bunny took out some cabbage and kale. Those were replaced. I may be able to do that one more time ... he hasn't found the broccoli.

Transplanted tomatoes and such: most are looking okay. Some are growing. Wind hasn't helped but bugs have been minimal, or close to it.

Most warm-season sown crops are above ground and look fine. I hope Benjamin doesn't invite his friends to the green beans.

Flowers are looking okay ... a bit spindly, here and there.

Rating: I hate to do that so early . Most are only in their floor exercises ... maybe a 9 for the level of composure I have at the moment.

Steve

 

[Smart Red]

In its present condition my garden is un-ratable. I am pleased with the tomatoes and pepper. The asparagus and strawberries are fantastic. My earliest potato planting is doing great.

Someday soon, the rest of the garden will be planted. Then I can sit back and rate my garden and I will be pleased with it. At this time, however, the gardener is getting a low rating for being so far behind.

 

[Carol Dee]

Funny way to rate out gardens. We have had a bumpy start. DH got antsy and planted tomatoes in basement in February! Then put some of them out too early. FROST. 2nd planting bunnies got, ate them or broke off to the ground. Grrrr. The long beans I got from Bay (and misplaced for a year!) only about 1/2 germinated and those are climbing well. Potatoes looking good. Peas will be ready while we are on vacations. Bunnies in berries. I sure wish everything was growing as good as the WEEDS.... those would get a 10 for sure. The garden hmmmm maybe a 7 or 8.

 

[pjn]

Growing pretty well. Rate it between 6 and 7. Harvest will tell more. The volunteer tomatoes and weeds are definitely a 9.

 

[VA_LongBean]

I'm fairly happy, lets call it an 8. The peas are all blooming freely and the blue podded one is making a lot of pods. The pole beans are climbing except for three I planted in late May, and they are catching up fast. The bush beans are also pretending to climb which is vexing in the extreme. All the beans are beginning to bloom. Cowpeas and longbeans are also vining. The tomato plants are vigorous (not bad for all volunteers) and setting lots of flowers. The garlic looks good and the potato onions have multiplied like mad since I planted them in fall/spring. The weeds are there, but I am staying ahead of them.

 

[majorcatfish]

where to start...
main garden.............
1.the soil tilled up pretty as a peach this spring, but the new expansion soil is very heavy in clay so the beans never had a chance to sprout,had to add black kow second time good too go..
2.the peas had to replant twice due to root maggots,third time a charm.
3. the expansion is right where i had my blackberries growing, anywhere that i did not get the roots up have sprouts popping up...
4. the expansion has a slope to it so when it rains hard have a flood going to the low end....

seriously thinking about leveling that part and turning into raised beds as well, would be able to place 12 12x3 beds 0r 10 12x4 beds...

the raised bed area...
1. planted sweet onions this spring 32 in the bunch got 7....
2. bok chio bolted early this year... have 12 sprouts in the ground now.
3. couple types of radishes bolted.. never had a chance to taste them..
4. the zucchini bed over the last month and half has only been growth and a couple blossom rot ones, picked a bucket full today aint that a hoot ...
5. planted the same amount of golden and red beets, only a handful of reds came up..
6. not getting the bird netting over the corns sprouts ....my fault.

personally observations....
1.knowing darn good well we had a wicked winter<well for here> i am not seeing the same amount of honey/bubble bees or any other pollinators.thank goodness for the ants....<thank goodness have only seen a couple yellow jackets>..
2. we were 10-20 degrees below normal day to night springtime temperatures..
3. seed suppliers are not doing a good jobs of making sure that the right seeds are in the packet, in the tomato patch have distinctive types of tomatoes from one envelope. couple round, couple oblong...wonder why they are on sale now..?????? heck they well all make good canned tomatoes...
4. and yes i have made a few human errors in the garden...

so if i was going to rate the gardens as of now...
spring 5-6
now 7-8
since i am not a fortuneteller, going for 8-10 mark..

definitely going for the 10+ for the fall/winter gardens...