Garden Analysis 2024

Since 1982 I’ve grown vegetables where I live. I planted them in every home or apartment but one (we had mature black walnut trees to forage there). If I rank the 2024 garden with others during the 43-year period it goes in the upper third. Not the best, not the worst, better than average.

I planted five of seven plots this year. There was not enough time or energy to get them all planted. Likewise, I’m not sure we need seven vegetable plots for our household. Some year, maybe next, one of them will be converted to flowers, and another to a raised herb garden. Likewise, the northeast plot, next to the oak trees, is not the best location to get sunlight. That plot needs conversion to some kind of garden shed with a border planting of more flowers.

The main plot problem was that in combining the two largest plots into one fenced area, the fence did not serve as a deer deterrent like it did in the smaller plots. In the past, the close proximity of all the fencing deterred deer from jumping in for lack of a landing space. Opening it up made the leap more attractive. I like the large plot, but if I persist, I need to put ten-foot fencing around it. In 2025, I should split them back up as I don’t want to spend the money for a deer fence.

Garlic. I built a burn pile over the stump of a locust tree in hope of burning it out when the drought abates. I don’t know if that will work, but I could reclaim the whole plot for vegetables again. This year I used it for garlic, which grew okay, except there is a significant percentage of cloves with some kind of fungus. I segregated the heads that appear to have the fungus and was able to find plenty of clean heads for next year’s seed. I peeled the infected ones, removed the bad spots from the cloves, and pureed them in a blender with extra virgin olive oil (see photo above). We’ll see how those preserve, but it is a good use of damaged cloves. It is Oct. 28, and I don’t have next year’s crop planted. I walked the planned plot and just need to do the work before the ground freezes solid. Garlic can even be planted in the spring, although that’s not what most farmers do.

Tomatoes. It was a good year for tomatoes. I had plenty of cherries, plums, and slicers to meet our needs and give some to the local food bank. The map above indicates the varieties I planted. The Amish Paste, Granadero, and San Marzano were made into tomato puree which was mostly used fresh or canned. There was an abundance of cherry tomatoes, with them coming in first and lasting until the first hard frost. The slicers — Better Boy, Abe Lincoln, Goliath, Black Krim, Brandywine and Yellow Brandywine — provided a long season and adequate variety. The Yellow Brandywine did not produce much but the fruit was tasty and adequate in quantity.

Failures. Onions, Turnips, Radishes, Celery, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Green Beans, Bell Peppers, Peas, and Okra did not produce as expected. Part of this was planting in the extra large plot mentioned above where seedlings became deer food.

Potatoes. My tub method of growing potatoes worked again this year, keeping the small rodents from eating them first. This is a time-tested practice and I’m glad to have developed it. It works.

Cucumbers. An adequate crop with plenty of varieties. Not too many. I was able to can all the pickles I need until next year. There were plenty for eating fresh and donating to the food bank.

Hot Peppers. There were enough to get by until next year with preserved blends of peppers, onions, garlic and vinegar in the refrigerator. I always have more than I use. There were plenty to use fresh. I have a backlog of dried peppers in the pantry. I began turning some of them into powder to use to repel bugs.

Cruciferous Vegetables. It was a light year due to the big plot situation. Luckily, there is plenty in the freezer from last year. I could stand to grow a few more cabbage.

Fruit. It was the off year for the main apple trees. I did get some Zestar! and Crimson Crisp and made applesauce to use fresh. The pear tree produced in abundance and we ate fresh fruit while it was in season.

Row Cover. The covered rows are the best part of the garden. I get plenty of early lettuce and bok choi. There was basil, parsley and sage in abundance. When I mention a raised herb garden above, the intention is to put as much of it as I can under row cover. I need to work through succession planting so the supply of lettuce is continuous for a longer period of time.

Gardening was worth the work in 2024. I plan to put in another in 2025.