A garden update - finally! It doesn't matter that it's the end of February, right? We've actually been promised a beautiful day - 12 degrees and sunny. Unheard of in Canada this time of year. And it's snowing in Rome. Strange happenings!
This post is the first of two updates on our garden from last summer and includes half the veggies that we planted. As we were complete novices at gardening, we had some great successes and a few spectacular failures. Your feedback and advice is greatly appreciated.
Welcome to our garden!
Beans and Peas
Our beans and peas grew really well this summer and we ended up with more than we needed. We planted a wide variety - Blue Lake pole and bush green beans, 'Alaska' heirloom peas, 'Sugar Snap' peas, - and some unknown seeds from mom. In some areas, there wasn't enough support for the climbers and towards the end of the summer some of the beans were overly large and not very tasty. Lessons learned.
Beets
We planted Merlin beets and they grew really well. I'm not sure if we were supposed to top up soil around the beets as they grew out of the ground and some grew a bit too close together but they were plentiful and delicious.
Broccoli
Our broccoli was all over the place. We planted a lot ('Green Sprouting' organic and Belstar organic) and some flourished while others flowered. Perhaps it was the crazy hot and cold swings we had last summer? The wet conditions? The soil? Or we planted too early? Hmm. Lots to learn.
Carrots
Our carrots were a success even though the first batch was a bit fat and short. We planted organic 'Nantes' and organic 'Rainbow Blend' carrots. The colours were amazing and the kids loved eating them straight from the garden.
Cucumbers
Our cucumbers grew well in the spring and early summer but withered away by August. Perhaps that is their normal cycle? They were the best tasting cucumbers I've ever had! We planted organic 'Marketmore', organic SMR 58 Pickler (not an exciting name) and Calypso cucumbers.
Eggplant
The hot weather that lasted through the end of September and early October was the saving grace of our eggplant (and melons). If it had been a normal late summer, the eggplant wouldn't have had enough time to grow to an edible size. Even then some of them didn't grow large enough but we did get enough to enjoy the 'Black Beauty' eggplant.
Lettuce
So much delicious and beautiful lettuce - one of our favourites and a great success in our garden. We planted a variety - 'Iceburg' crisphead, organic 'Paris Island Cos', organic 'Red Salad Bowl', organic 'Baby Leaf Blend' - as well as organic 'Regiment' spinach. We enjoyed the lettuce through the summer and will definitely be planting more this year.
We hope you've enjoyed this first post about our garden adventure. We welcome any answers, advice and feedback you have - we have plans for another garden this summer. Stay tuned!
Read all about our seedlings and garden plot here.