I tried a number of new plants and techniques in this year’s vegetable garden. As we move into September, it’s time to start sorting out what worked and what didn’t.
Drip irrigation (Post G22-026, Post G22-027, Post G22-037). A huge success. For a bit over $100 in parts, and maybe two hours of labor, I can now water my entire garden either by hooking up to my rain barrels, or by using water from the spigot. I can reconfigure it and add to it at will. Key takeaway: Use 1/2″ drip line.
Portable electric fence as a deer deterrent (Post G22-018). A winner. This is another project that took almost no time and a bit over $100 to set up. Push in some cheap plastic posts, run the “wire” (more like metallized twine) through them, pound in a grounding rod, and hook up a small fence charger. With deer deterrents, it’s hard to tell whether they worked or you just got lucky. But I’ve had essentially zero deer damage since this went up. I suspect the deer really don’t much like it. (And, having tested it on myself, I concur.) Key takeaway: The technology has changed to make these easy, cheap, and flexible. If you only need a small fence, you only need a small, cheap fence charger.
Sprawl technique for tomatoes (Post G22-035). Thumbs down. This year, I tried letting one bed of tomatoes grow un-staked and un-caged. Just let them sprawl. It’s by far the easiest way to grow them, but I’m not going to do that again. They grow just fine. I didn’t see (e.g.) any higher levels of leaf diseases and such. This bed is now a mat of interwoven vines. It’s hard to see the ripe tomatoes, and I’m losing more tomatoes to garden pests than I would if I had staked them. Key takeaway: The problem isn’t growing them, it’s getting a good harvest after allowing the vines to sprawl in the garden bed.
Cold-tolerant (early season) tomatoes (Post G22-025, Ripe Tomatoes in June). A big winner. This worked out quite well. Not only did I have tomatoes by the end of June, those plants are still producing a decent yield of salad-sized tomatoes. They slowed down in the heat of the summer, but it looks like they’re picking up steam as the cooler weather sets in. I also learned a lot about what “days to maturity” really means. Key takeaway: Pick the right varieties, and you can have tomatoes in June without having a hothouse.
Growing large seedlings in paper lunch bags (Post G22-012, Post G22-017). Works well. This year, my butternut squash and pumpkin seedlings outgrew the paper cups I started them in before I was ready to transplant them to the garden. I moved them to doubled-up paper lunch bags filled with potting mix. The idea was to give them room to grow and to avoid transplant shock by planting them bag and all. Coincidence or not, I’m having my best butternut squash year ever. Key takeway: Double up the bags, and handle them gently when it’s time to plant.
More to come.
