Suggestions for the 2010 Vegetable Garden

Our 2009 vegetable garden has been the best one that we have had so far. However, there are definitely some changes that I would like to make for next year's garden.

We definitely need a more dependable method of staking the tomatoes. This year some of the plants are in cages and some of them are attached to wooden stakes. Even though the cages are wide they are only three feet tall so the tops of the plants do not have support. On the other hand, the stakes are only providing support for some of the main branches but the stems of the plants that have large fruit still fall to the ground. Next year, we need to make our own cages out of heavy duty wire and use stakes inside the cages to give additional support to the plants.

Using newspapers covered with cedar mulch in the tomato patch worked out well. There have been very few weeds in the tomato garden and the fruits that are on the ground are not rotting. Also, the plants are disease and pest free.

This year we planted 13 tomatoes (3 Sun Golds, 3 4th of Julys, 2 Celebrities, 2 Lemon Boys, 2 Jubilees and 1 Golden Tangerine). The Sun Golds and 4th of Julys produced early fruits and are still loaded with tomatoes. I would plant the same amount of each of these next year. They really have been great staples for snacking, salads and salsas. The Lemon Boys started to ripen in the middle of August. They fruits are medium sized and healthy but I haven't been bowled over by their flavor this year. They seem to be bland. I'm still debating whether or not I should plant them next year. I'm just beginning to harvest some of the other three types of tomatoes so I'll have to report back on them later.

We had the first batch of green beans last Sunday and they were delicious. I steamed them and added a small amount of butter with salt and pepper. The beans were a perfect size. I'll pick another bunch of them this weekend but this time I'll add sauteed mushrooms. So far the amount of green beans that were planted is working out just fine. Next year, I'll plant a second sowing three weeks after the first so that the harvesting season will be extended.

All five of the zucchini plants are doing well. I noticed that I have two or three more zucchinis that I need to harvest today. I still haven't picked the flowers to stuff because the weather has been either to hot to bake them or raining. However, this weekend the weather is supposed to be sunny and in the low 70s so it would be a good time to prepare this recipe. So far, five plants have been just the right amount.

Next year, I will only plant one large pot of basil (instead of three) and one large pot of parsley. I'll use the long pot that I'm currently growing the parsley in for a second sowing of carrots. The carrots were great this year but I could have used more. I would eat them as fast as I could pull them out of the ground. One thing that I learned is that they need to be thinned well at the beginning of the season and that they become "limp" if they are left in the ground too long past their maturation date.

I want to plant red lettuce next year. I haven't been happy with the salad mixes that I have grown for the past three years. They seem to be heavy on light green lettuces that are very bland.

Yesterday and today have been in the 80s and sunny with a cooling breeze.


Ken is pulling out the weeds in the berm by the street. He has been so frustrated with this area. The grass on one side of the tree looks fine but weeds have invaded the other side. He just finished pulling out the small weeds by hand and digging out the larger ones with a shovel. He is patching these areas with compost and seed.






He will be emptying the second container of potatoes this afternoon. I'm excited to see how many we get from this barrel. We are going to use a few of them to make french fries to go with the hamburgers (with tomatoes and onions from the garden) that we're having for dinner. Tomorrow, I'll pick the first green beans and steam them to go with the grilled vegetable sandwiches that we'll have for dinner. YUM!

The zucchini plants are really beginning to produce. If it's not too hot in the house this evening, I will bake two loaves of zucchini bread. I bought some dried cherries when we were in Traverse City in June to use in the bread instead of raisins. I have several new recipes but I haven't decided which one I'll try first.



The Pinks are still blooming. I've never had this happen before. Also, the coreopsis is putting out new flowers. I think that the mild weather that we are experiencing is definitely having an effect on the perennials. I even saw a flower on the bleeding heart a few days ago. Even though the storm that we had last Sunday broke off several of its branches, it has not died back yet.


Close up of a Pink flower

We've seen the hummingbird feeding at the Million Bells and Blue Victoria salvias the last several days. Also, the butterfly bush has been attracting bees and butterflies including monarchs and swallowtails.

The weather has been very unpredictable lately. Last Saturday it steadily rained until about four o'clock in the afternoon and then cleared up. We really needed the rain so I didn't mind being cooped up inside. On Sunday, it was hot and humid until eight o'clock in the evening. Then we had a terrible storm with extremely high winds and torrential rains. Our power went out and that rarely happens since we have underground cables. Fortunately, it came back on after a few hours. Yesterday and today are pleasant--sunny and in the low 80s.

Most of the perennials are in transition. Either they have finished blooming or they have not yet begun to do so. There are a few Happy Returns daylillies that are beginning to rebloom but the rest of the daylillies are done. On the otherhand, some of the mums are beginning to show color and the two Autumn Joy sedums have huge unopened flowers. In addition, the perennial salvias that I cut back are reflowering and the two that I cut to the ground are beginning to add new foliage.

Rejuvenation of Perennial Salvia

The annuals that looked so puny a few months ago are now in their glory. The Blue Victoria salvias are doing great this year. They have grown tall and thick with beautiful blue flower spikes. The pink begonias are also covered with flowers.

Blue Victoria Salvias

Pink Begonias

The vegetable garden is now producing a ton of tomatoes and zucchinis. Ken made a large batch of salsa Tuesday evening. He used 4th of July tomatoes, Serrano peppers, cherry bomb peppers, onions and parsley. I'm making taco salad with zucchini, parsley, basil and a variety of tomatoes tonight. There are only a few onions left and all of the carrots are gone. I plan on planting more radishes and lettuce when the weather cools off. On the other hand, I should be able to pick green beans this weekend and Ken is planning on harvesting the other container of potatoes.

4th of July Tomatoes

It's August!

Today is the warmest day that we have had in a long time. It's in the high 80s and humid. Not only have the temperatures been cool but it has also been very windy. The leaves on the zucchini plants that are on the south side of the house were facing the same direction after being buffeted by the high winds.

I haven't had any time to work on my flower beds lately so I'm planning on getting out tomorrow so that I can weed, deadhead and fertilize the potted flowers. I have been using the water in the rain barrel to keep the pots wet--it takes about 20 to 30 minutes to water all of them. A few weeks ago, I cut back the salmon Wave petunias and it really made a difference. They are full and lush again.

We have been reaping the harvest from the vegetable garden daily. Last Saturday, Ken emptied out one of the bins containing the Yukon Gold potatoes. There were about a dozen large potatoes and a handful of very small ones. He found a recipe for Swedish potato salad in a current issue of Cook's Illustrated and used some of the large ones to make it. It was really good! However, next time he will add bacon to it.

Yesterday, I made linguine with roasted vegetables and a pesto to spread on french bread. I roasted 4th of July tomatoes, Sun Gold tomatoes, the baby potatoes, zucchini and carrots in the oven at 425 F for 30 minutes. Then I carmelized three small onions. After all of the vegetables were cooked, I mixed them together in a bowl and added two chopped uncooked 4th of July tomatoes. Their juices and the extra virgin olive oil used to roast them created a nice sauce. I then added the vegetables to the cooked linguine and sprinkled each dish with parmesian cheese.

I used a recipe from this month's Organic Gardening to make the pesto. The recipe called for both walnuts and pine nuts. I did make one change to the recipe though. It said to use nine gloves of garlic but I only added five. I love garlic but five cloves were even too much. Next time, I'll use one or two.

Yesterday, was the first time that I picked any zucchini but the plants are loaded with flowers. I thought that I would use some of the zucchinis in recipes such as zucchini bread but I still plan on stuffing the blossoms.