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.