2011 Vegetable Garden Triumphs

Vegetable gardens never fail to amaze me.  What works so well one year is a complete mess the next.  So I am trying to keep a record of what happens each year and hopefully I'll learn a few things along the way.

Last season I tried the Square Foot Gardening method which encourages really tight planting but discovered it didn't work for me at all.  Lettuce particularly became very cramped and turned into wet mounds of leaves becoming a delightful abode for slugs and earwigs.  This year I was diligent with  spacing and was rewarded with beautiful and tasty greens all summer long.  Drunken woman, Simpson Elite, Plato Romaine, and Butterhead all graced our table along with the spicy leaves of Nasturtiums. 

The nasturtiums were a pleasant surprise as I've never grown them before.  They were planted next to the lettuce and did exceedingly well.  The peppery taste of the leaves was highly anticipated in salads although I shied away from trying the flowers.  The butterflies enjoyed them enough for everyone.

Last year cilantro did exceedingly well and this year was no different.  Except this year not only did the seeds I plant spring into action I also had plants spring up out of the compost.  It seems last years cilantro reseeded itself in my compost pile and I've had cilantro popping out of every nook and cranny.  Luckily I like my herbs and I like the flowers on these plants as well.  They provided a little extra greenery in the flower beds but next year I'll be more careful to space out the volunteer seedlings so they don't completely take over.

All my herbs, in fact, did well this year.  Basil, oregano, dill, lemon balm, mint, parsley.  I've read that herbs thrive on neglect.  Perhaps this is telling a little something about my gardening style?

Everybody got to enjoy the plentiful herbs this summer

I tried a pepper plant for the first time ever this season and apparently neglect suited it fine too.  Although one industrious earwig dug a hole and made a home I was still grateful to find myself with four peppers at the end of the season.  Unfortunately the peppers didn't ripen quite as much as I would have liked but considering our very wet and cool summer I'm just pleased I was able to produce a pepper at all.

My crowning achievement though had to be the carrots.  I'm not sure how but I seem to have some knack with carrots.  Last year I produced a good haul of orange tubers and this year was no exception.  In addition, this year I grew the biggest carrot I have ever grown.

On the right is a one litre, or 32 ounce water bottle.  That bottle stands just over 8 inches high.  On the left is one exceptionally large carrot.  I used it for Thanksgiving dinner and it was the only carrot I cut up.  There were leftovers.  I still can't get over how big that darn carrot was.

And then there was the other side of the coin.....