Next Year, Things are Going to be Different

[digitS']

Rereading what I had written and reading about @Pulsegleaner 's purchase of heirloom tomatoes makes me want to clarify.

I didn't think about "proven winners" being a trademark of the industry. I meant there are heirlooms which have proven themselves in my garden. Casting about somewhat randomly for others has been counterproductive.

I can only allocate so much space to them and when the number of varieties finally reaches the number of plants I'm growing ... I guess I'll have one of each. Nah, there are other qualities beyond diversity. I'll wait to finally go full monty heirlooms until I'm actually olde, don't you know.

Steve
planning about 1 heirloom out of 4

 

[Smart Red]

I know I'm growing fewer tomato varieties in 2015. Probably fewer varieties of veggies as well. Three colors of carrots, four types of spuds are fun to look at, but eating is eating. One good producer in each veggie family may have to be enough. Every year DH does less in the veggie garden. I'm doing more outside the veggie garden. Fewer choices and more space to the family favorites will be the order of the day this summer.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

I know I'm growing fewer tomato varieties in 2015. Probably fewer varieties of veggies as well. Three colors of carrots, four types of spuds are fun to look at, but eating is eating. One good producer in each veggie family may have to be enough. Every year DH does less in the veggie garden. I'm doing more outside the veggie garden. Fewer choices and more space to the family favorites will be the order of the day this summer.

I heard my dad say that for 10 years. I think every year he increased the garden(s) size and planted more varieties.

 

[digitS']

Oh no!

I deliberately forget how much gardening space I have in total! More might have been pushed on me last year, so of course, I had to come up with a rotational/cover crop plan for a 35' x 200' extension of the "2013 Extension."

Fortunately, I didn't have to admit what a greedy cuss I am by taking over those additional square feet. Howsomeever. The good neighbor over the backyard fence has said I should grow dahlias in his garden ..!

Steve

 

[so lucky]

I am not going to depend on heirloom tomatoes this year, either. I have to think that years ago, either the soil or the weather or disease prevalence was just enough different that the old varieties like Rutgers, Roma and Beefsteak produced fairly well. I have never had an open pollinated tomato that produced well enough to earn its keep in my garden (well, except that volunteer cherry type).
It's Big Beef for me next year. (she says, confidently)
And I'm still "gonna" enlarge the garden. Last year, I was having so much pain in my hip joints, I could barely bend over. No way could I do what was necessary to break new ground, prepare the soil, fence it, etc. Now, thanks to the tai chi exercises, I can bend and squat till the cows come home. So I have no excuse. Got the fence, got the chicken poo. Just need to get my son out here with the tiller.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The majority of what I plant is pretty firm every year, both in what I plant, how much, and what varieties. I'll always plant Breeder's Choice hybrid corn. My wife has made it real clear this is what I need to plant, though next year I'll have six 40' rows instead of eight because I canned so much this year. it was a good corn year. My pole beans for canning will be Blue Lake, again from the boss, but I'll have some Blue Lake bush for early eating from the garden. That's my choice because that's the one I like to grow. The Japanese style eggplant seems to work better for me here so that's what I grow. I really like lettuce leaf basil, both flavor an ease of harvest. Most things are set by productivity and flavor. Productivity is important.

But some things vary each year. I planted a lot fewer tomatoes this year and no paste because my wife couldn't eat tomatoes when I planted them. So I planted for me to eat fresh and to give away. Now that tomatoes are back on her "can eat" list, I'll plant a lot more next and many of those will be paste for sauce. Some things will vary, depending on changing circumstances.

But every year I plant something different, just to try it out. Last year it was melons since I had extra space because of fewer tomatoes. I don't know what it will be this year. I'm thinking about snap peas but I'm concerned about them because of how soon it turns hot here. Maybe it will be something else. Maybe something else and snap peas. When it's time, I'll plant something.

 

[w_r_ranch]

The Japanese style eggplant seems to work better for me here so that's what I grow.

Productivity is important.

Same here. As I said earlier, I try one new variety per year. Last year it was a eggplant variety called 'Millionaire'. It was the best looking & most prolific variety we have ever grown. We will definitely be planting it again next year!

​

 

[ninnymary]

Wr ranch, I planted "millionaire" also and it was very productive. My plants grew smaller than yours but I was still happy. It's hard to grow eggplant where you have cool summers.

Mary

 

[w_r_ranch]

Mary, do you like 'Caponata' and/or 'Eggplant Parmigiana'???

 

[thistlebloom]

@so lucky! That's great news about your increased flexibility!