Garden 2011

After last year, I've narrowed in on a few of our favorites and decided to go that direction this year with the garden. B's going to be a lot more involved too, so that will be LOVELY!

First off: No cucumbers, ground cherries, pumpkins or eggplants. I don't think we will have any peppers either. The reason? We can easily get most of those at the farmer's market, and they don't yield a ton of produce per plant. Ground cherries... they were delicious, but I got my fill this last year. Maybe next year!

Next: fewer peas. We had SOOOO many! I think only one arbor is necessary.

Plant more of: potatoes, carrots, and beans. Ok, maybe the same number of beans, but don't neglect the beans like last year!

Tomatoes: Do those from seed again. It was work, yes, but it turned out great. and it was a sucky summer! So I'm hoping to have a good summer. I don't think I will plant as many plants, but we'll see.

Move beds: A few garden beds looked like they'd get a lot of sun, but they didn't. So, we're going to move those beds to another part of the yard. A lot of work? Yes. But there's no point in having a bed if it's not going to get sun.

Remove the tomato cages and cover the area in black plastic to kill (yea right... but it's worth a shot) the mint. At least when the tomatoes are planted, there will be no mint.... Give those tomatoes a chance!!

Onions: I'm on the fence. I LOVED having fresh onions, but they did not store well this year. So, if I do grow onions, I'll need to make sure I learn how to better store them. I heard they really need a lot of air circulation, which is why the mesh bags are used on them. Hm. I also need to grow storage-hardy onions, not walla wallas.

Broccoli: B really wants to grow it, but in my experience, this always turns out to be an aphid-fest. Bleh. I really hope we can just get it at the farmer's market, but perhaps this will be the "test bed" of 2011.

Basil: Yes, grow that again. It was pretty nice having basil to pull from all summer long.

Squash: I liked how many plants we had last year, but I did not like that they were only a couple of varieties. This year, I'm aiming to get sample sizes or something and only plant a few plants of each.

Yes, there will be lettuce. No sweet potatoes this year. Still working on last years.

Garlic is plentiful this year and already in the ground!

I think that's it. A cool approach to next year. That will give us more time to enjoy ourselves and get outside (other than the garden). And, I won't be too overwhelmed with produce as it comes in.