I think I am done this season

[obsessed]

I think I am done. I know I have a lot more time for growing but I just feel defeated. This wasn't a year to remember. Feel like I spent so much time and effort and got so little out of it. Nothing really produced except my cherry tomatoes, cukes and Jalapenos. I have a long list of failures and stuff that just didn't grow or grew and got attacked.

I had good germination with beets and swiss chard but they got completely eaten Nothing was savable. I assumed it was a slug and tried the beer but it didn't really catch them. I tried the squash three times this year and got hit by the vine borer each time. My better boy tomatoes just never produced more than a couple of tiny little ones. I just feel like maybe If I spend the time over the winter and learn a bit more maybe I can have a better season next year.

I have two tomato plants that I planted in July that are not flowering yet and I don't know if they will before frost (mostly because I am not used to the climate here). I have some radishes and carrots going and some broccoli. I do plan to leave what i have in and plant a cover crop over the winter. Then next year I will probably do the square foot garden. I think I am in desparte need of organization. I blamed all my follies on my soil this year and then found it wasn't so bad after all.

And I don't know what I will do about pests. I think it is funny. I live in a place where zucchini may not grow (due to the vine borer). I don't want to deal with chemicals but dang there are an awful lot of bugs down here like an exponential increase when compared to Montana or Cali.

I know I am whinning. I am sorry.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Whine away. You sure won't hurt my feelings. I lived in Jefferson Parish for close to 30 years so I understand what you are saying. I had so many trees and so little sunshine I couldn't even try to grow much, but yeah, those pests, the heat, the humidity, and those aftenoon thunderstorms are a real challenge.

I think spending the time this winter studying is a great idea. And look at what the locals grow. When you think of cajun or creole cooking, what do you think of. Tomatoes, okra, pepper, garlic, onions? They have to grow what they cook. Check out merlitons and see if it is something you want to try. I'd suggest looking at New Zealand spinach or yard long beans, something the locals probably are totally unfamiliar with but seem to be relatively pest free and grow in hot climates. I almost forgot the Pontchatoula strawberry festival. You might try strawberries. If you have a really protected area but you might try citrus trees. Frost would probably get you every few years, but I had some killer limes, and my neighbor did real well with lemons. Another neighbor grew satsumas. We were on the East Bank and the frost got us occasionally, but not every year. The trees grew back from the roosts and sometimes we got a harvest. Grafted trees don't work well though.

I'd say experiment and study and find out what works and what doesn't. This is my second year here and I'm certainly still learning.

 

[curly_kate]

I feel your pain on a lackluster gardening year. Its such a shame when things don't turn out very well because you have such high hopes and put in so much time. I generally avoid chemical treatments, but those squash borers might drive me to it! Wilt & blight were my big problem this year because of the cool weather around here. I was really excited about trying the nutmeg melon that I was growing, but they never got bigger than a softball. But there's always next year. :happy_flower

 

[patandchickens]

I hear ya, sometimes it is discouraging. And I think it is absolutely 100% ok to say 'I could still plant more and try again, but I do not feel like it right now so I am going to go do something else til springtime'.

For borers, is it possible to grow a few zucchini or other squash plants under netting or floating row cover, in your climate? If you trellis them you can cover them with something to keep the moths out so they can't lay eggs and that is supposed to help quite a bit. WOn't work for a whole field of squash, obviously, but if you just want a couple few plants it might be something to try -- in a future year when you have had a rest and renewed your energy for gardening

I've given up on my veg garden early this year because it has been such a SUCKY year for anything other than lettuce and garlic. I would estimate that I now have about twice as many green tomatoes waiting to ripen in the kitchen as I ever got ripe off the plants -- and it is not like I have *so* many green ones :/ All I've got left out there is the runner beans, half-frost-killed but I am letting them finish going to seed for next year, and I am coddling the groundcherry plant that my son snacks from while waiting for the schoolbus. Other than that, it is all ready to be ripped out and a buncha new compost dumped on the beds, and I am GLAD to see the end of THIS season

Hang in there, it will be better next year,

Pat

 

[digitS']

. . . really produced . . . my cherry tomatoes, cukes and Jalapenos. . .

Let's see:
250 square feet for cherry tomatoes,
250 square feet for cukes,
250 square feet for Jalapenos,
250 square feet to play around with . . .

Gardening Success in 2010 !

Steve

 

[wifezilla]

Most of what I planted was a bust...but I learned a lot from my little experimental pond system plants. Plus I had a HUGE grape harvest, and my brussel sprouts did well. First time I tried those. So not a total loss, but it could have been better. Don't get discouraged. There is always next year.

 

[Greensage45]

Earlier this year I posted pictures of my garden with 30-day intervals; it was truly a marvel! Some I was able to control, some was out of control. I lost some harvest. I under planted other stuff. My choice of tomatoes was way off (except my beloved Brandywines).

If I were to take a picture right now I would make you smile and realize that you are faced with the end of the year whoppins LOL, it either seasoned out, or it got hit by something. I like it when I can finally sit for a change and let it all do what it does. My tomatoes are sprawling and look like gigantic weeds. Tons of leaf but nary a fruit.

I did excellent with melons this year. That was fun and I am happy to report that since April I have lost 30 pounds !!! Ron's melon diet...I am gonna get rich! LOL

I often look back to 'days of old' when the cottage provided the entire family with food. A harsh world but certainly nutritious...LOL, I am sure they would look at me and think for sure I wouldn't make it through another winter LOL ...oh well, I will try another garden next year too!
(I was a farmer in a previous life) LOL

Anyways, I wont show the pics unless someone really wants to see it in the desert/late summer mode. The grasses are dried. The plants are really hardened off or gone. Even the chilies had a bad year this year.

Soon we will dream of Spring to come. Perhaps this winter would be a good time to think of growing tons of flowers.... if I fail at veggies I can live off flowers! :watering

Take time for you now! That's the next gardening chore.

Ron

 

[digitS']

. . . My tomatoes are sprawling and look like gigantic weeds. Tons of leaf but nary a fruit.

. . . http://www.downmemorylane.me.uk/Harvest Time (1199) (Old).jpg
. . .

Ron, that there photograph is from the UK!!? I might be able to find something similar of Dad. I've already told you that he grew up in Las Cruces in the 1920's and '30's. You remember Las Cruces, right?

What do you suppose is the problem with your tomatoes; is it just the choice of varieties?

Grandmother grew what I'm fairly sure is a Porters during the Depression . . . now, 70 years removed by way of seed saving. It is what we might call a saladette - plum shape but it's no paste tomato. There's also another one called Porter's Pride. It is round and a fairly small tomato according to Tomatofest, about 3 ounces. I've never grown that one.

Anyway, the Porter Seed Company was in Texas and I've grown the original Porters side by side with Grandma's and altho' the plants are different, the fruit itself is nearly the same.

Your Brandywine is from (where?) Pennsylvania. So, obviously you can grow varieties from outside your region but I'm just wondering if some that can appreciate your climate better would be surer bets.

Steve

 

[HiDelight]

please say you are not really done and that you are just venting because I would be beyond sad not reading your posts and seeing how you persevere ..and you will I just know it because you are OBESESSED ...

 

[dickiebird]

Obsessed, You might want to go to You Tube and look at the Bayou Gardener he has some great videos from his Large garden in LA.
THANX RICH

People say I'm getting crankier as I get older. That's not it. I just find I enjoy annoying people a lot more now. Especially younger people!!!