What didn't Turn Out Well

[digitS']

What didn't turn out well for You this year?

For me, it was the darn soybeans for edamame ... again! In 2013, the plants did so poorly that I didn't bother to harvest anything. I've got one soybean volunteer for having done that. It has not even flowered!

There have been flowers in the 50square feet where I planted soybeans. Pods, too. Probably averaging less than 2 seeds/pod!

This sure isn't soybean country! I don't know of a field of them within hundreds of miles. Maybe it's the low humidity ... or the cool nights. I'm disappointed.

The jury is out on the tomatoes, too. It wasn't their fault that there were bad windstorms. Fleabeetles moved in hard after the storms. I should have sprayed. I have some (small) plants that are just loaded with big fruit but other plants have little. Only a few varieties came through our first windy then very hot growing season well.

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

Where do I even start Steve? The AC has been down twice, the sun roof on the Pilot was shattered by a flying rock on the interstate just out of Little Rock at the start of the trip, the riding lawn mover has been in the shop twice in the last month, and I had to replace the trailer light wiring again. But I don't think that's what you are talking about.

My Black Beauty eggplant hasn't produced worth much of anything. I'm not sure what went wrong early but I didn't catch the flea beetles in time and they went really downhill from those. I'm hoping they come back after treatment but it will be cool soon.

I planted Ananas melons for the first time. They grew great and produced well, but most of the production was on the week I was gone to see my Mom and for her birthday bash. Those melons do not last at all. If you don't get them when they ripen they soon go rotten. I mean just a day or two. If it rains they split real badly too although I had them mulched well and the soil damp. And practically all of them ripened at the same time. I did eat a few, gave some to friends and a food bank, but I threw a whole lot of melons to the chickens or on the compost heap. I really expected the harvest season to last a lot longer.

I had a heavy frost on the exact day it was supposed to happen, Tax Day, April 15th. But the weather before that was nice and mild. My plum, peach, and cherry trees were in full bloom. I tried rinsing the frost off with a hose that morning but I had no peaches or cherries and just two plums this year. It wasn't a late frost to blame, just an early warm spell.

Groundhogs built a den in my corn patch in the garden. They did not touch the corn, which surprised me. I had great corn this year. But they ate a lot of bean and cucumber leaves, ate some beans, took bites out of tomatoes, melons, sweet peppers, and other things. In three weeks I managed to shoot one but that was all. I could not trap any. I finally got some coyote urine at the local hardware store and poured some down the den hole and scattered it around. The quickly abandoned that den.

I make jelly for Christmas gifts. It's not really that hard usually. It practically always goes well. But for some reason I've had several batches fail to set this year. My mulberry jelly even failed to set when I went through the fix that always works. I've been very careful to follow the exact recipes but it has not been a good year for making jelly.

There is more but I'll quit. it's really not been a bad year. The summer was cool enough long enough that many things have done really well. Usually it gets so hot that everything dries out. I'm not really complaining, just commenting.

 

[so lucky]

My tomatoes didn't do well, either, Steve. I have a couple of volunteer plants that still look good, but the ones I so lovingly tended all spring are nearly dead, just a few green leaves, sunburned fruit, brown crinkly branches. Gotta love those "heirlooms"!
I have planted Swiss chard twice this year; yet to get any.
I had big plans of enlarging the garden this year, but had a lot of back/hip/leg pain this spring and decided against it. Next year!! I truly am convinced the Tai Chi "cured" my sciatic pain. I can stoop over and squat down with no pain now!

 

[baymule]

Hmmm...... rain every day with suffocating heat and humidity cooked and blighted just about everything. I planted squash 3 times and got very very few. Only got ONE squash on the 3rd planting. ONE. The only thing that has done well is the Thai #3 green beans, (and they were late) butterbeans and potatoes. Not planting a fall garden, will be taking up the brick beds soon, just feels really weird not to be gearing up for fall. Wah.

 

[ninnymary]

Bay, gear up for fall by planning that spring garden. Even though you have winter to do that, I think you will need fall also. You have a lot of work up a head of you!

I'm almost afraid to ask, any news on that property?

Mary

 

[baymule]

Maybe, just maybe we can close on Sept 8, it's the very last day of our 2nd extension. Then it will be call the contractor in to fix all the electrical and plumbing damage, install new AC and heating units. Put up a fence with locking gates across the front with NO TRESPASSING-SUVIVORS WILL BE SHOT AGAIN sign. I already have bought seed for spring-just couldn't help myself.

 

[thistlebloom]

Everything I actually planted did well (but the darn ripe tomatoes aren't exactly pouring in). No disease problems...a few aphids are showing up on the kale...
However, I didn't grow even half of what my plans were to grow so that improved the odds of what I did grow doing well I guess.

The biggest thing that didn't do well in the garden would have to be me. I struggled with getting my mind out of a big black hole, and trying to quell the resulting apathy.

But next year! Next year will be better.

 

[canesisters]

That's what I love about gardeners - we are Next Year people!!!
It doesn't matter WHAT went wrong this year. If we have a little piece of dirt (or can borrow one) we will keep on digging and planting and hoping and saying 'Next Year...'

 

[Jared77]

Let's see here....

Got a late start due to weather, combine that with having to wait to borrow a tiller the garden was a few weeks behind. Beginning of July my SIL's husband found me one at a sweet price so that helps next year. So now I finally have a tiller. It's a rear tine Troy built that was only run about 6 times before he

My wife's ulcerative colitis flared so badly she was pulled off work. So when I was home I was doing double duty. After a series of medications things are improving and she should be back in the next couple of weeks.

I've been burned 2x now by bad labeling and cross pollinating. The bad labeling was me buying off the shelf Kentucky Pole beans instead of a reliable source like I normally do. Yep they started producing and they are not Kentucky poles. Yes they climb. Yes they are productive but no not what I thought they were. They were stringy, and while still tasty were not what they were labeled as.

Replanted red bell peppers 2x have yet to see any of them produce even something resembling a pepper.

So when I bought my rhubarb I found some squash. I found Delicata and figured for a dollar sure why not give it a try right? Never had it before supposed to be super tasty.......yeah I have some. Rather large gourds bigger than a basketball. Oblong pumpkin crosses of some kind. I may carve them regardless just frustrating.

Speaking of carving I thought I'd be all smart and mow down a spot for my pumpkins to grow up the elevateddrain field. Yeah I fell behind with mulching so the grass grew up, they got mildew and really stalled the pumpkins growth. They are about the size of softballs. Treated them most survived but a promising pumpkin patch fell on it's face. I think the soils just too poor there to try again.

Lost at least 2 lilac starts this year to powdery mildew/mold looking disease. Treated them but they didn't pull through. My $30 autumn glory maple also showed signs of it. Treated it and the growth after it looks promising. Going to feed it once it goes dormant and the leaves fall so in the spring it gets a strong boost.

Because of the rain I lost easily 20+ lbs of tomatoes. Cracked, split and rotted. Whole plants loaded with fruit a week or so away from being ripe lost. Was mostly heirlooms. Black Krim, Cherokee purples, Brandywines, all were just devastated. It was tough to see those all lost. I did lose some on my hybrids but if I didn't have those Id be buying tomatoes at the farmers market. Thank you Early Girl and Lemon Boy for saving my crop.

Lot of my San Marzanos are still waiting to ripen, the first ripe ones all had blossom end rot but what's still green looks promising so we'll see. Maybe 5-10% of what was on each plant had BER. The interesting thing too was those were the first tomatoes from those plants.

Part of the problem was the a Black Krims, Cherokee purples and especially the Brandywines toppled their support stakes. Had On some plants 6-7 tomatoes at or near 1.5lbs. I picked a few that big and compared them to what I lost and they were that big. Same with the Cherokee purples big 1+ lbs. My Black Krims never get that big so was nice to grow maters that go "crust to crust" as my wife says for tomato sandwiches.

Those were my busts this year. Weather I can't control. I plan on doing a Florida weave next year to be sure everything's well supported. And I'll be ordering seeds from a more reliable source next time. I will not make that mistake again.

 

[digitS']

I don't know the meaning of "summer vacation," @Ridgerunner ! Still, things get away from me. I think I might have had more than one serving of edamame if I'd stayed focused on those pathetic soybeans!

Sunburned tomatoes @so lucky ? Yeah, I have those. With half the plant blown over on top the downwind side - lots of tomatoes were exposed to the hot sun.

With all the heat, it might be a stellar pepper year but no, I had to leave the flowers on them when setting out! They set fruit alright but didn't have enough foliage to protect it from the sun! I'll get some peppers and even some giant (for my garden) tomatoes - after a poor start.

Like Mary says, you've got lots to do next year, @baymule . I'll provide some incentive -- it's been a great squash year. The plants are huge! Green beans continue and more coming on!

@Jared77 , see above about a good squash and bean year . Also, see above about pepper and tomato problems. For me it really was coulda, shoulda, woulda! But, I hear from several sources that there will always be next year .

Steve