Vote With Your Fork

The first photo was taken April 15 last year, before my seedlings went into the ground. The second was taken today, 3 weeks earlier in the year... ... wow, this year's bunch looks so much better. I think I leveled up my gardening skills! I provided better light this year and I think that's what's made the difference.

That said, I thought I'd share what went right and what went wrong last year, in case there are any other new-ish gardeners who would like info on avoiding the same mistakes I made.

First, I had heard you could grow stuff right in straw bales, so to save money on dirt in my raised beds I put a layer of straw in the bottom. This would've been great, IF I'd done it the fall before I wanted to put my garden in, but I did it in March, so my plants were growing in straw and I think as a result, didn't do great. Toward the end of the season, as the straw broke down, the tomatoes went crazy, and I picked a gallon of them the day before our first frost. But that straw is nice and decomposed now, and I think I'll reap the benefits this year.

Lost a lot of stuff to bugs. Here in Tennessee it's a constant battle. The flea beetles got the eggplant, the squash bugs and squash vine borers did in the zucchini after a minimal harvest, and I got some cucumbers but then the cucumber beetles came calling with the Blight, which destroyed the cukes, and the watermelons too. I also had Japanese beetles on the beans, and the little yellow caterpillars, which reduced my harvest. Plan for this year: traps for the cuke beetles and floating row covers on all of the above.

I started squash and cuke seeds with the tomatoes and eggplant. I lost all those seedlings to rot and they got pot bound, so curcurbits go right in the ground from now on. Or, I won't start them till 2 weeks before they go in the garden.

I put lemon balm, a mint relative, in the vegetable beds. It's going to be a weed if I leave them there. Anyone want a lemon balm plant? Need to move them to a different spot, but I do love the herb.

I think grandpa's heirloom Soldacki tomatoes don't much like the climate here... I may put them somewhere they get a little bit of shade every day so they're not in the blazing TN sun.

Carrots needed something... lighter, sandier soil, I think. They came out stubby. Broccoli failed utterly, but I planted it too late. The peppers also needed something, and I think this is a crop I do not have an affinity for, but I do use them, so I need to figure out the problem. I think the straw may have had a lot to do with it.

Successes:

• Had a bumper crop of tomatoes toward the end of the season, and canned my own salsa for the first time.
• Peas! They are so easy to grow. This year's are off to a good start, too.
  
• Herbs. I have an affinity for a lot of them and they make my thumb feel green. My regular basil didn't do as well as it did in a pot the year before, but the purple basil produced more than I knew what to do with. I have a cabinet full of dried herbs, still.
  
• Swiss chard. Which, unfortunately, Russ hates.
• Determinate cherry tomatoes did really well all year.
• I got tons of raspberries on my everbearing Heritage bush, and also a decent crop of sour cherries off my dwarf North Star tree, considering it was its first year.
  
• I definitely learned a lot!

This year's tomatoes are already 4-6 inches tall with thick, healthy stems. I finally got all of them potted into little pots from peat pellets yesterday and they look happy. Actually pretty much all of my seedlings are thriving (9 tomato varieties, 4 eggplant varieties, 6 peppers, basil, parsley, some flowers, ground cherries... I think that's it) and if things continue as they are I will be giving away seedlings around the end of April. Or maybe taking them to the farmer's market, but I suspect friends and family will want them.

That's the report... I'll keep you updated on this year's organic garden and food preservation efforts as we go!