2027 Planning

 Most years I vow to do better next year. This time I SUPER VOW to do better next year. I think I will try to keep a post here to keep track of what I want to grow, chores I need to do, links, ideas, and planning.

What I want to grow

• Tomatoes, of course. Perhaps a bunch of different varieties.
• Garlic
• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Hot Peppers. A lot. Crazy varieties. Prep for future photo collage!
• Cukes. Be nice to have some to make pickles
• Dill, also for pickles
• Onions - maybe do some sets
• green onions
• Basil
• Different sorts of berries?
• Green beans
• peas
• lettuce
• cabbage
• carrots (for reals!)
• cauliflower
• Napa cabbage
• eggplant
• cilantro, sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme
• chives
• winter squash
• ground cherry
• okra?
• tamarillo?
• kale
• spinach
• dried beans
• fig? YES!
• corn? Requires fortifications
• sunflowers
• probably more

What I need to do

• Build raised beds
• Buy raised beds
• Panels from pvc pipes to keep deer out?
• Wood frame panels to keep the deer out of driveway planters? Welded wire fencing in bucket?

Timeline

Now-Sept

• Clear weeds and brush
• Lay down cardboard
• Obtain buckets
• More cloth buckets?
• Think about hydroponics
• Repair rain barrel
• Maybe plant some kale?
• Other fall crops?

October

• Drain rain barrel, also patch it
• Empty hoses, shut off water to hoses
• Longer hose for driveway spigot
• Obtain and Plant Garlic

November

December

January

• Seed starting early January

February

March

• peas around mid march

Links

Pinterest board for links

Map

Rough map of what I have to work with. The planter closest to the street has Jerusalem artichokes, I will leave those. One of the other 4 should be for garlic. I don't want the front yard to look too trashy, so either need some cages to keep the deer out that look nice or grow something they don't care about. 

The space in front of the planter trench on the lawn has grown sunflowers in the past, that might be nice. I'm not sure if there are more deer now and they might get eaten.

The trench itself needs to be cleared out. I want to clear out pretty much all of it. Maybe not the rose. Maybe move the rose? Clearing the prickly bush will be a fun challenge. There are some black raspberries, but they grow poorly there. Maybe transplant? Not sure how difficult that is.

Front patio may host some buckets, possibly a big planter of some sort. Needs to look decent.

Maybe something along the side of the house along the driveway. Some nasty lil vining weeds there that would need to be handled. Maybe some buckets.

Small bed before the rock garden is kind of shady. Needs lot of clearing out.

Rock garden is a disaster. To the point where it would almost make sense to take it out.

Small planter at the end of the driveway with strawberries. Seems to be doing pretty well, though need to be cleared out a little bit.

Old garden area seems promising, though it will need protection from deer. I tried basil here and kale, they did not prosper. 

The "brush" are is a bit overgrown. May clear that. Maybe put down some big old planters in there.

Maybe some way to keep deer out of the yard. Definitely some deer-proof raised beds. Maybe the old garden is the easiest place to do that.

Rough Ideas

• Cut up yogurt containers for markers
• Cardboard tubes for plant starters
• 
  

Updated

• Aug 20 - started
• Aug 22 - added map
• Aug 24 - began trimming the pricker bush in the front patio trough. It's a real ordeal.
• Sept 9 - got some rooting hormone, going to try propagating the black raspberries. Bringing em back!

Disappointments

Well, another sub par year. Got started late, not a lot of redundancy. I do have a nice batch of Roma tomatoes in the area right by the front patio stairs. Had some zucchini, but they died out. Got a grand total of 3 *sad trombone*. I think critters got at them. Maybe mice. Maybe rabbits! I definitely saw a rabbit escaping from the area when I rounded a corner. The start up was late, I tried planting seeds directly in dirt and did not get a solid sprouting, sadly. Peppers were pretty disappointing, but I got a few New Mexico types growing. Should get a couple pounds. Miraculously grew some huckleberries from seed. Got a couple plants. Not a huge harvest, but been picking and freezing, saved up about a pint, will make something with them. Also grew something called an orange variety, they have a distinct taste, but not very pleasant. I wonder if there is a use for them. I've just been letting them go. Couple eggplants grew, but I don't see any activity that looks like fruit. I abandoned garlic, weeds overtook them, I just harvested a couple days ago. Just terrible. Small heads, some broke apart on harvest. The Jerusalem artichoke patch is booming, I will harvest some soon, see what I get. I planted none, I did nothing, not even watering.

I got some more strawberries, and bought a row cover and frame to keep the varmints out. That seemed to work. I got a few berries. Also had some eaten off by something. Perhaps need to clamp down the row cover a bit better to protect them. Maybe do better next year. I saw a bunch of blueberries, but they got got by something before I got any. The "serviceberries" are not doing anything like a berry. *shrug*

I think the big take away is that I'm going to put a lot more effort in next year and see what I can get. Thinking about a few things, like raised beds (the big metal ones). The row covers did a pretty good job with the strawberries, maybe see how that goes if I expand it. Maybe make some nice removable panels to keep deer out of the stuff along the driveway. Anyway, will make another post called 2027 planning that will keep track of what I'm thinking..

Huckleberries

Seeds in Dirt!

 As prep I filled three window boxes with soil from the composter. Brought that in a week or so ago. This past weekend I planted some seeds in it directly - no sprouting on wet paper towels this time around. We'll see how it works. Planted three types of tomatoes - Roma, Spoon, and Cherokee Purple. Ping Tung Long, the long purple eggplants. Ground cherries. Something called orange berries. Huckleberries. Four types of hot peppers - Jalapeno, Cayenne, Serrano, and Anaheim.

I've still got one long box unplanted, I think I will stop at the hardware store and get some more tomato seeds. Need some cherry tomatoes at least. I've also gotten out the peas and zucchini which I think I can plant soon. Predictions have Thursday as the last day to have freezing temps this month. So maybe we will be good after that. I've got plenty of seeds so I will probably plant this weekend and hope for the best. 

We are underway!

Ordered Seeds!

 I'm thinking this year the big improvement might be floating row covers. I think it might keep deer out? Going to try it over the strawberry patch and maybe elsewhere.

Also think I might grow in some buckets along the side of the house. Sunny and I don't think deer go there that often. 

Will start seeds in the basement shortly, maybe next weekend.

Some Small Efforts

 Well, the fracking deer noshed on my Jerusalem artichokes. I mean, they left a significant amount of leaves, so I think they will recover.

Deer molested Jerusalem artichokes

Why do they eat only the things I plant? They never eat weeds. Deer, frustrating me for almost 20 years now. And no sign at all of the yams I planted there. Maybe something will sprout, or maybe that's a big failure.

Next planter up is some volunteer garlic and some kale. The kale all bolted, I didn't get much from it. I'm not too optimistic about the garlic either, but what the heck.

Next up are the potatoes. I guess 8 plants. Maybe 11? Anyway, they are doing great. Seeing some flowers.

Taters

Not too weedy despite the neglect I have offered them since planting (been sick for like a month, yuck).

Next planter is all kale, all bolted.

Final planter is full of weeds. I was thinking maybe green beans.

Rolling up the yard to the zucchini trench, things are going a bit better. Seeing zucchini flowers, and some babies.

My baby!

These zucchini are real troopers. The foliage beneath the big ol' zucchini leaves is rather thick! It vaguely leads me to wonder if the density of weeds has any impact on the ability of bugs to get in there. Probably not. It would probably be far better to clear out the weeds and the old dead leaves. It is on the to do list. The plants are looking great though, weeds and all.

Zucchini blowin' up

Tomatoes a little further up the yard are doing great. They always do great in these little cutouts attached to the deck. And enough rain that no varmints are chewing into the stems. I have sealed up the holes a bit, so maybe there are no chipmunk caves there this year.

Tomatoes

The only disappointment with the tomatoes is that almost all of them are black cherry. I mean, those are good, but so is variety. They seemed to be hit less by critters - perhaps the critters couldn't keep up with the abundance. One black cherry produces 750 million tomatoes, while I only get a few from like a mortgage lifter. And the varmints get them before I do.

One task that I did do today was to cut some cloth strips and tie up the tomatoes I put in buckets in the back yard. These guys are doing even better than the front yard ones, which is most unusual!

Back yard. No cukes here this year.

Hot peppers are growing. Leaves are getting eaten a bit. Maybe slugs? Perhaps I should put out a beer trap for them.

Basil needs to be thinned. Seems to be doing ok. Chick peas are growing nicely. Hopefully the deer never find them. I've eaten a few pea pods. Num.

Chick Peas

 After a soak the chick peas went into a wet paper towel for three days. Sure enough, they sprouted nicely.

Chick pea sprouts after 3 days

I planted out 36 of the seeds in 3 separate 10 gallon grow bags on Monday. No sprouts yet, but I am optimistic.

Pepper plants don't look super great, like they're struggling. I fertilized everything on Sunday. Warmer weather is on the way, so hopefully they will perk up.

Rainy Days

 Been very rainy lately, so I haven't had to water much. It has been warm lately, though it's 54 F today. I've been doing garden work sporadically, mostly on the weekends when I have free time. Lots still to do, but I guess I should congratulate myself on what I've done so far. I made a list of remaining work to do last post, and since then I've planted the rest of my tomatoes in pots. There are still a few of them unplanted, mostly the smaller stragglers, maybe 5 or 6 plants. I think I'll plant those in the back side plot. A small plot currently with some peas in it. But the peas sprouted in two clumps, leaving space for a few tomatoes. I also put some tomato cages in with the peas for them to climb on. Also managed to find some Jerusalem artichokes on Etsy of all places. Today I may try to sprout some garbanzo beans. So four items checked off my to do list, not bad at all!

I decided to order some fabric grow bags to see how I like those. I basically have an unlimited supply of soil available in my backyard up by the tree line. I've dug out a rather deep hole where the compost heap is/was to fill up my various buckets. But I could easily do 50 times that much without it being noticeable. So anyway I ordered 10x 10 gallon fabric bags. Much cheaper than buckets. Haven't decided exactly where to put them, but probably some on the front porch, some on the back porch, maybe a few on the side of the house. I think I'll try to plant a variety of things and see how it goes. Beans for sure. Maybe some lettuce. Cucumbers would be nice to have.

I took a look back through previous years of the blog to see how Mays past looked. I think we're in pretty good shape this year. In a few previous years I was farther along with tomatoes and zucchini, but mostly behind where I am now.

Some pictures.

Kale in planter by the front door. Planted last year

Volunteer tomato growing the front steps

Potato bed

Potatoes!

Zucchini

Garlic

Tomatoes already flowering

Peas. Suspect I'll get some but not a bumper crop

More tomato flowers

Growth in four days. Noticeable!

A little garden work

 Today was a bit of garden work. Cleaned out some of the vine in the rock garden. Crazy, it was fine last year and now it seems overgrown. The tomatoes there were mostly deer and chipmunk food, which was disappointing. I may see if I can just grow zucchini there. Deer don't seem to prey on zucchini as much.

Also spread some diatomaceous earth around a bunch of plants. It's been very wet here, I figure slugs will be out in no time. But nothing yet. They really crippled the zucchini last year. May put out some beer to draw them in.

All the peppers are planted now. They don't seem super happy. Maybe a bit of transplant shock, oof. I've got about 6 or 7 buckets that will be home to some tomatoes.

Tomatoes do seem happy in the patio wells by the driveway. That seems to be a great spot for them.

Planted some potatoes. Dug out one of the garden beds by the driveway. Two more are empty, I'm thinking sweet potatoes and beans. Another one has garlic, doing great. The last one has kale which overwintered and seems to be perking up. Also some garlic. I have no clue if it's some extras I planted or volunteers from the year before.

TO DO LIST

• Maybe get some different tomatoes/peppers/something else from a nursey.
• Get those remaining black cherry tomatoes in buckets.
• Some more strawberries? Weed the strawberry bed. Some trellis for the peas in there.
• Trellis the other peas.
• Plant some beans
• Plant some more kale. I feel like the overwintered stuff is all bolting already
• Plant some zucchini in the rock garden.
• Turn the pizza oven base into a planter.
• Prune brush in rock garden and the old garden.
• Plant sun flowers out front
• Find Jerusalem artichokes
• Get straw for strawberries
• The asparagus is still alive! Clear out that area of the old garden.
• Plant the berries. They are off to a great start this spring, but one of the blueberries is not so happy. Better get them in the ground. But where???
• Rescue some black raspberries.
• Plant chives
• See if garbanzo beans I got will sprout

New Year in the Garden

 Just to start off, I have been making breakfast sandwiches to take to work quite regularly. For bread I use focaccia mostly, though occasionally Abreaducation white bread. Most days I grab a handful of raw or sometimes frozen spinach and cook it in a little butter until it's unfrozen/wilted. Then I crack a couple eggs in the pan and cover until it sets up a bit, then flip. After that I turn off the burner and put on two thick slices of yellow deli cheddar and cover again. This melts it nicely and doesn't overcook.

This years gardening got off to a decent start. I ordered some seeds and planted a few types of tomatoes and peppers. I figured I would start a few types, get some more seeds and start some other types. Well, it did not work out that way, so I have two types of tomato plants this year, Black Cherry and Sungold. I think I will be disappointed not to have a slicing tomato variety. And no sauce tomato either, though I could certainly make sauce from the two cherry varieties. One other benefit is that it seems like the prolific output of cherry tomatoes outpaces the chipmunks thievery. Did not get many of the sungold to come up. Only about 7 or 8 plants. But the black cherry plants went hog wild.

Black Cherry

I also tried ground cherries. But none of them sprouted. Not sure what I'm doing wrong with them. Had them one year and haven't worked out much since.

Also one variety of peppers popped up. I think it was "Highlander" a New Mexico green chile type. Got a few plants, not enough to go wild, but I'll hopefully have some.

Green Chile

Also went a little nuts on basil. I'm a bit excited about basil this year. I think I'll plant it here, there, everywhere, in the ground, in containers, all over. Be nice to make a good haul of pesto. Some are doing better than others, but they're all mostly just barely sprouted.

Basil

Current plan is buckets near the house for tomatoes. The deer don't like getting that close.

The rock garden landscaping fabric mostly held up, but it's going to take some work to get it suitable for planting. Lots of vines grow in there. I think I'll plant zucchini there, deer seem less likely to eat that.

Have some peas sprouting up. I built a small raised bed out of the posts I tore down from the fenced in garden. That's got peas and strawberries surrounded by chicken wire. Something ate some of the peas that sprouted. Deer maybe. So I put up the chicken wire and that seems to have put a stop to the predation. 

Got 8 tomatoes growing in the wells by the stairs in the front and a bunch of zucchini in the trough out front. Garlic in one of the raised beds by the driveway. Kale in another, and some kale in the little planters by the house. The kale all survived the winter, it was very impressive.

Also have some berry bushes that survived the winter in pots! Blueberries and serviceberries. Also some gooseberries that I transplanted out of the old fenced in garden before the landscapers cleared it.

So lots going on. As always, never quite get to all the things I want to do, but if I get half of the stuff I've gotten started it'll be nice.

Just Terrible

 I planted like 30 tomato plants. Surely I should be awash in tomatoes, right? Nope. I've gotten tomatoes from like 2 plants. What went wrong? I think the problems are deer and chipmunks. Chipmunks chewed through the stems of three plants. Deer completely violated the plants out in the rock garden. But even with that issue, I should have gotten some tomatoes since they can't quite get at the whole plant thanks for the concrete reinforcing wire cages. But I have not see a red tomato. I think the culprits are chipmunks. I've definitely seen them scurrying away from the tomatoes. In the end, tomatoes were an utter disappointment. If I want to have some sort of tomato harvest next year I am going to need to come up with anti-deer/anti-chipmunk measures. I think I could put up some posts and wire to keep the deer at bay. But the chipmunks are going to be a bit tougher. Maybe some chicken wire around the cages?

Zucchini did pretty poorly this year as well. I got a few, but < 10. Out of like 7 plants. Only a couple of the plants did well getting started, and they're all completely gone now.

Cucumbers did poorly as well. I got basically one small harvest. They seemed to suffer from the heat and dried out way too fast even with religious daily watering.

Hot peppers did ok, I've picked a lot of them. Made some powder, froze some green chile and long hots. Probably the star of the garden this year.

Plans for next year:

• Deer proofing absolutely required 

•  Chipmunk proofing methods needed 

•  The peppers need bigger pots. Need to find a source of decent pots, maybe get a yard of compost or something to fill them. 

•  Better soil and mulching for everything in pots, especially cukes. Maybe a better location for cucumbers. 

•  A berry planter. The strawberries were good, though only got a few, and likely chipmunks ate a few. Maybe a shelter of some sort for them.

I didn't do anything with the planters out front along the driveway this year. Might plant some kale out there this weekend. 

Thinking a lot about maybe a hydroponic setup in the basement. I can afford decent lights and would be cool to get some basil, maybe strawberries or something.

As always, my battle cry is NEXT YEAR!

Current Tomato Setup aka Kiiiiiiind of Overdoing It

 I got my first tomato this morning! A little ping pong ball sized beauty hidden in the foliage by the driveway. I took a glance at the blog here to see which type it was and to my horror realized I didn't have a map. I mean, I have one, I'm not a maniac. But I didn't have it online. So I made a nice map for my self based on my sketches in the ol' garden notebook.

Couple notes. This morning's first tomato was an A Grappoli d'Invierno. Very prolific. The "hole" in the Rock Garden map between the Cherokee Purples in the front center is a little stump. Too big to get out easily. So I left it and put landscape fabric over it. Which has been a great decision! Keeps the weeds in check. The dotted green circle in the upper right of the lower section of the rock garden is actually not in the ground yet, haven't even dug the hole. But soon! It's still in the trough that I originally planted it in. Of the remaining plants, it's the biggest, strongest, most powerful one. Even already has fruit on it. Will it survive? Good question. The current 5 on the right in the lower section of the rock garden bed are doing not so great. Partly no doubt due to it being in the 90s here the last couple days since I planted them. And I waited too long to transplant. And there's a metal pot placed over another tree stump in the middle of that area - maybe that gets too hot for the plants? Unsure. I _think_ they'll make a comeback. Also the top right Roma in the upper bed is sagging a bit as if it's not getting enough water. I think they could all do with some mulch of some sort to help hold the water in. I will see about that this weekend. All told 32 plants. The odd one is a Roma in a bucket.

To Do List:

• Plant some basil somewhere
• Build strawberry bed out of salvaged 4" x 4" by 10' posts from the fenced in garden. Where to put it?
• Transplant strawberries there
• Figure out where to put Serviceberries (3) and Blueberries (3).  Blueberries seem very happy. Serviceberries somewhat less so. On got attacked by a deer a little bit. They might have a rough time of things. Blueberries also need soil modification - Sarah says sulfur maybe??
• Find a spot for the Roma in the bucket?
• Clean out the back section of the rock garden. Perhaps load that up with zucchini.
• Clean out the back left section of the rock garden. Perhaps basil? If not find some place for basil. Containers?
• Clean out 4 stone planters by the driveway. One has garlic, that doesn't need to be cleaned out. One has kale that has gone to seed. I'm gonna let it, then maybe replant with those seeds. The one nearest the house has a metal mesh surrounding it, that will contain beans. The other two will be... I dunno. Strawberries didn't see to do well there. It is hot, and it is full sun. Either need some shadecloth or need to figure out something that likes that.
• Maybe lettuce in the little side bed in the back? Neighbor put up a 6' tall plastic fence. At any rate this needs to be cleaned out and harvest the rather-unlikely-to-have-produced-anything garlic in that bed. Maybe spinach?
• Old potting shed that I never used completely rotted out and fell over. Burn the remnants and maybe build a new one? Thinking more like a shelter for tools, shovels and the like.

Productive Weekend, Yet Not Productive

 There was a ton to do this weekend, I'm a bit behind. Peppers need to be transferred out of the big ol' troughs so they grow a bit better. I did prep some buckets for them, need to transplant though. That's the plan for Detil, Cayenne, Korean Dark Green, and Buena Mulata. And I need to figure out a spot for the New Mexico peppers. Hmmm. There are 4 unoccupied stone planters out front. Probably one will be beans, one will be kale, and the other two not sure. So those are possible spots. Also perhaps the little brick planters on the deck by the house for a few. That would work nice if it doesn't get too hot. There are probably 20 of them, so I can certainly experiment a bit.

I planted cukes as well. Youtube guru said the burpless varieties are less prone to bugs and mildew, so I got a few of those. For reference here is the setup with the buckets.

Also have a few straggler tomato plants left. No reason not to put them out in the rock garden. Seems like the tomatoes I currently have in the rock garden are loving it there.

Other random plans... There's a big spot in the rock garden cleared, and two other spots needing to be cleared and landscape fabric'd. I maybe plant up some extra zucchini in one of those. Also need to figure a spot for basil. Perhaps some other herbs. Strawberries are going to go in a planter I'm making out of the remains of the fenced in garden from the back - some long 4"x4" posts that I'm going to make a planter out of. The neighbor says he's putting up a fence, so that makes it a little easier to just put a planter there.

Also vaguely thinking spinach.

Getting warm out

Finally getting warm out. A bit before the first frost date, but weather.com suggests we're not gonna have any temps below about 50 in the next few weeks, so I think we're in the clear. I've been hardening off the seedlings for two days now. Yesterday was just for a couple hours, today was most of the day - they seemed happy enough. Last week I planted zucchini.

They're coming up already, woot woot! Winner for first sprouts is Fordhook.

I also planted a few tomatoes outside. Cherokee Purple in front, Black Cherry in the back.

Lots of tomato seedling left to go. Gave away 5 to Jill. May see if the neighbor wants any, I think I promised him a Cherokee Purple.

All of em!

Batch 1

Batch 2

Batch 3

Couple kale plants still left over from last year. I pulled a few that were moldy in the middle. The stems are like 2" across, huuuuge.

Kale

Garlic is looking amazing.

 

I bought some landscape fabric. The weeds in the rock garden can be insane. Going to put out some tomatoes up there, hopefully the deer don't feast on them.

Like 10% done

Got the fabric at the local mom and pop hardware store. They also had strawberries (Honeoye) and long hot peppers (maybe a local Philly thing?? I never find seeds for these.)

Junebearing Strawberries

We're off!

 As usual I have procrastinated, but since I targeted starting so early, I'm actually right on track. I guess that counts as a life hack! Anyway, I have started quite a number of different tomatoes and peppers. I've got seven fiberglass tough planters (like a long window planter) under the fluorescents right now and they're doing very well so far. One planter has a ton of weeds in it, but the rest seem good so far. I used clear packing tape to stick labels written in sharpie on the side of the planters. Will they stay stuck on? Will they fade? Who can say!

Seeds starting under lights

Have I mentioned garlic? I have 55 garlic bulbs and they look great so far! I'm optimistic for a nice haul of garlic this year.

One of the hardneck garlic beds

Some tomato seedlings already putting on extra sets of leaves.

The soil I have the seedlings in is somewhat sandy and seems to dry out pretty quickly. I need to keep on top of watering.

Gardenfest 2023 review/2024 preview

Update from 6/23/2023 - My prep this year was decidedly lacking. Rather than beat myself up over it, I decided to just roll with it. Last year I was very aggressive about bringing in pepper plants - 28 of them made it into the basement. Whereas last year things went swimmingly, with almost all plants making it through, this year it looks like only 8 made it. And whereas last year they really took off within a week of being put outside, these 8 survivors seem to be a bit less vigorous. Last year the overwinter leaves kind of fell off and new leaves popped up everywhere. This year the regrowth seems much more subdued.

Today, 03/10/2024 - Last year was unimpressive. I got a few zucchini (planted late, did not keep up with them well). Tomatoes were pathetic. Definitely focusing on other things. This year, as I perpetually say, will be different. There is at least some hope that I may do a better job. I've already started some peppers and I'm working on tomatoes today. I've cleaned out some of the spider webs in the basement (lol, what a metaphor!), and I've got my first batch of peppers under lights. 

The hot pepper selection was interesting. I dug through my last 12 years of seed packets and came up with the following that I started last weekend:

• Poinsetta - None sprouted.
• Hungarian Hot Wax - None sprouted.
• Caperino - None sprouted.
• Pablano - None sprouted.
• Habanero - None sprouted.
• Sweet Banana - None sprouted.
• Pepperoncini - None sprouted.
• Tabasco - None sprouted.
• Buena Mulata
• Cayenne
• Datil
• Korean Dark Green 

So only the last four sprouted. Maaaaaybe I'll get some of those. I think my problem is that I have a lot of old seeds.

Today I also planted 

• Serrano
• Jalapeno
• Anaheim/Big Jim - a New Mexico type of chile

Went a lot heavier on these than the other types, these are the ones I enjoy the most. I really, really hope the New Mexican type of green chiles do well, I'd like to get a big enough harvest to justify getting a roaster. A hand cranked, propane fired roaster would be really fun, and a great way to prep them. 

Spent some time today deciding which types of tomato to plant.

• YES - Rutgers - These are reliable.
• YES - Black Vernissage - See how they stack up to Cherokee Purple
• YES - Brandywine - Low output but maybe do 1.
• YES - Beefsteak - Low output but maybe do 1.
• YES - Spoon - These are fun.
• YES - Black Cherry - Pretty, good flavor. Get loads of tomatoes.
• YES - Yellow Pear - Yes, looking for a nice range of cherry colors this year.
• YES - Roma - Doing sauce mostly, so yes.
• YES - A Grappoli D'Invierno - Got a lot of these.
• YES - San Marzano - Mostly using them for sauce, so no brainer here. 
• YES - Cherokee Purple - My favorite!
• YES - Napa chardonnay - Yeah, doing a rainbow of cherry tomatoes.
• YES - Green Doctors - Yeah, doing a rainbow of cherry tomatoes.
• YES - Red Cherry, Large Fruited - Yeah, doing a rainbow of cherry tomatoes.
• YES - Sungold - A great cherry variety.

Decided against these.

• NO - Brandywine Pink - Low output.
• NO - Gezahnte - I don't think these fared well.
• NO - Mortgage Lifter - Never get much from these

The two major themes this year are cherry tomatoes - I want a nice variety of colors, and tomato sauce, so somewhat of a preference for paste types. I also am being less tolerant of varieties that produced poorly. I want to make up for my lack of tomatoes last year and see if I can have a great year.

Other things on the agenda for... soonish... eggplant, ground cherries, and huckleberries.

Another big theme this year is berries. I had elderberries for a few years, but they got lost in the backyard jungle and never saw them again. The black raspberries that used to be everywhere in the back are largely gone. I think the jungle swallowed them up as well. Last fall I hired a landscaper to clear the back yard. Expensive, but the change is very dramatic. I will definitely have some extra space for plants.

Another berry project - I took cuttings from a blackberry bramble at the community garden and put them in water. They're sprouted nicely, I will see if I can start them in soil soon. I also put some blueberries and blackberries from work and put them in the freezer. Will defrost them soon and see if I can grow plants from the seeds. And finally will need to hit the nurseries in the area to see what else I can scrounge up. Strawberries would be awesome, but I think I will try a variety of things if I can find them.

Some scavenged photos of the mediocre attempt that was 2023...

Peas

Got some peas at least

Tomato seedlings. NONE came up.

Baby zuke

Zukes always give me something for my effort

Yum

My one tomato. Miserable! Got a few at least.

Lotta kale.

Okra flower. I got some pods but I think I left them on the plant too long.