I will no longer grow vegatables we don't eat.

[Gary350]

I am going to plant Roma Tomatoes they are great for canning we eat lots of soup and chili all winter. I will plant 2 rows.

I am going to plant Beefsteak tomatoes they are great for hamburgers, BLT, salads, sandwichs. I will plant 1 row.

Blue Lake green beans are the best, cooked all day on the stove with a little ham. I will plant 2 rows.

Silver Queen sweet corn is very good much better than all the others I have tried. I will plant 6 rows.

Squash is great bakes in the oven, stir fry chinese, squash casserole, baked with onions, fried and grilled. I will plant 1 row mixed zucchini and yellow squash every other plant.

Bell peppers came on 6 packs last year and 9 packs this year so I had to buy what was available. 1 plant would do us fine for the whole year. I have a bushel basket of bell peppers now and I have no idea what to do with them.

Potatoes are fun to grow but they take up a lot of space and my potatoes are never very large. New potatoes sure do taste good but next year I will buy a bushel basket of new potatoes at the farmers market.

I had fun planting carrots this year and they did very well some of the largest and sweetest carrots I have ever had. We don't eat carrots in anything but chinese stir fry so I won't be growing very many carrots next year.

I wish I could grow large onions I can eat an onion like an apple, I love onions. No matter what I try my onions never get larger than the day they were planted. They grow tops and turn to seed what a waste of valuable garden space.

We love fried okra but fried food is not very healthy so next year there won't be any okra in my garden.

Turnip greens are the best, better than spinach or any other greens we have tried and they are easier to grow than weeds. There will be 1 wide row of this in the garden next year.

There will be a large patch of garlic we eat garlic in every thing, soup, chinese, india food, chili, pesto, and more. I have a good supply of compost I have saved just for garlic. We probably buy 100 bulbs of garlic at the grocery store every year so next year I hope to grow 100 plants.

[applestar]

I LOVE your subject title !!

I agree! I ended up with way more grape tomatoes and green/purple beans than I know what to do with this year, and less beefsteak tomatoes, carrots, corn, and onions than I would've liked. That said, I STILL have tomatoes on my counter. I keep thinking we might want to eat some more fresh, but I think I have to just give up and sauce the lot.

Last rush of fall harvest is coming with the cold weather just around the corner.

[hendi_alex]

Next year we will be cutting down on the number of 'Juliet' plants, increasing the number of 'Celeste', less varieties of heirlooms. Will increase the edamame. Will increase the number and varieties of garlic. Will add carrots, mostly for the butterfly larvae. Will grow more plants at a time and more successions of cucumber.

[tomf]

less zucchini for me and less cherry tomatoes. More Roma tomatoes.

[applestar]

Maybe you can pickle your bell peppers.
I put a lot of diced fresh bell peppers in when making Chili too.

[gixxerific]

I'll eat anything. So let it grow.

[crobi13]

I agree with Applestar, great title, Gary

Next year, I will plant more cukes, green beans & 'maters than I did this year.
I will not plant any Serrano peppers as no one ate the ones I grew this year. They were waaaay too hot.
I will absolutly plant carrots again. They were easy to maintain & the taste beat anything I've gotten in a store.

[NaeMo]

There were things I *wish* I had grown. My husband was very disappointed that we didn't grow any slicing tomatoes. I grew all Romas (15 or so). I do have some longkeeper seed that I hope to use next year.

I should have grown some zucchini. I love it! We were given a few and I made it sauteed with onions and a few of us LOVED it. I also love it grilled or broiled.

My cukes didn't do so well. I never get enough to pickle. So I'll probably skip them next year.

Onions. I've never had luck with them, but hope springs eternal. We use so many onions, but they are cheap enough to just buy them.

I will try broccoli again. Planted it too late this spring, and most of it ended up as chicken snacks.

More melon! None of my canteloupe or watermelon fruited, the honeydew DID, but didn't grow much or ripen.

[rainbowgardener]

You can just cut all those bell peppers up, remove the seeds, chop them in strips or pieces or however you like to use them, and freeze them... have home grown bell peppers all winter, how wonderful!

[hendi_alex]

Don't the bell peppers go totally limp when thawed?

[opabinia51]

Catchy title but, it gleans some insight that I'd like to share. Gardening is not just about growing what we eat. It is about growing the plants as healthy as possible.
I to only grow things that I can eat and plants that benefit those plants. So, companion planting and planting plants that attract beneficial insects, birds, provide habitat for a variety of helpful animals (such as garter snakes and so on) comes into the play as well.

Sounds like you have a lovely garden! I like to grow the heirloom tomatoes along with my roma's beefstakes and so on.

All the best,

Opabinia

[rainbowgardener]

Don't the bell peppers go totally limp when thawed?

Don't blanch them first and they stay crisper. Still depends somewhat on variety and how thick the walls are. But if you are cooking with them, it doesn't matter if they are a bit limp-ish.

[Diane]

That's what I do with mine. I even buy bags of frozen bell pepper strips.
We use them in chili, sauce, omelets, stir fry and with steak or pork chops and sauted with potatos, onions and garlic.

I have never grown zukes because I've heard how prolific they are and I thought no one would eat them.
This year my son, mother and a few neighbors asked if I grew any.
So next year I will plant a few.

Nothing I grow goes to waste. I always find someone to give extras to.
If you come to my house or I go to yours, I will give you some of whatever I have harvested.

The only thing I do have too much of is raspberries. My freezer is full!

[Charlie MV]

Gary, your garden could be my garden. But I gotta say, no fried okra? Blasphemy!! You can't give up the okra. Nobody lives forever and my personal choices are death by fried okra or death by sex. There is a much greater likelihood of the former. I would have an equal sized smile from either. My god man, please tell me you're joking. The smell of fried okra is bliss. The taste is, well VICTORY! I have a 12 foot mutant okra plant. I posted a picture. I'll send you some seed from it if you'll just come to your senses man. Say it aint so. Give the okra one more chance. PLEASE!!

[Gary350]

I will probably buy some okra at the farmers' market. I know what you mean there is nothing better than fried okra and going all summer without at last a couple of meals of fried okra would be hard to deal with. The thing I dislike about growing my own okra is, it starts out slow, grows slow for several months, then when it is finally 5 ft tall it finally makes some okra. The tall plants shade my other plants. I have okra in the garden now the plants are pretty close to 8 ft tall now. Once okra starts coming I have to pick it every other day. It comes so fast and so often one 20 ft row will produce fried okra ever other day for several months. I hate to pick the stuff it makes me itch like poison ivy. When the plants died they are like small trees and hard to deal with in the compost. I think next year any time I get the desire for fried okra I will visit the farmers' market. Next summer I want to spend more time camping, hiking, bicycling and less time in the garden. I have canned more food than we need in mason jars to last and still have food from last summer and the summer before that so I think I could plant no garden at all and have plenty of canned food next summer. But I have to have a garden. I just can't live without some fresh vegetables from the garden.

[TZ -OH6]

I tend to gorge myself on my favorite things and don't have room for a balanced vegetable diet...I like Swiss chard but only ate it once this year because I eat so much of the other things every day.


Tomatoes - I'm am heirloom collector so there will be 30-50 varieties of all sizes shapes colors and flavors. The favorites get eaten fresh and the rest go into the sauce pot and then frozen for later use in pasta sauce and chili.

Green and red chile peppers- get roasted&frozen or dried for chili spices.

Cantelope/musk melon. Nothing is better than being able to eat fresh mellon every day, twice a day. Minnesota Midget come in early season, others for late season.

Sugar snap peas --most get eaten before they get to the house, never enough to store for later.

Garlic - Never enough once you get used to spreading roasted garlic on crackers, in mashed potatoes etc. An oven is a big thing so you can't roast just one clove.

[pepper4]

Being my first year I planted some things just to see how they grew even though I didn't care for them or use alot. None of them went to waste though. Alot of neighbors and co-workers put them to use. I went way overboard on the mators so next year I will only plant of few seeings that only one of us eat them and I'm allergic to them. I plan to plant more bush beans then I did. Had great success with them. Radishes grow easy but not alot of uses for them so will plant less. Plan to plant more cukes then I did last year also. Carrots...no luck but don't really use alot of carrots. Celery did well but may not plant so much. I use alot of peppers and onions but my peppers never really got very big and like some others posted my onions never grew that big. I am not going to give up on the onions though. Tried cabbage and cauliflower twice with no success so may not try again. This year was an experimental year for me. Definately a learning experience and it was fun doing it.

[pepper4]

mmmm. got to thinking about the topic and my last post. I would like to add to that. After giving it some thought I may still grow veggies we may not eat but I am sure others may. The fun isn't just in the growing for me but also the sharing

[sweet thunder]

I may skip tomatoes altogether next year. The only ones that seem to do well here are cherry tomatoes, and they just aren't that versatile.

I'll probably pass on the cabbage, too. I grew it mostly for my partner and he barely touched it. I even made sauerkraut for him and he's not eating that, either!

I will keep planting zucchini, peas, and various greens. They do well and we eat loads of them. If I can find the room I'll plant more potatoes, too, and I'm adding garlic to the mix.

In general, I'm going to focus more on perennial edibles. I'm planning to plant raspberries, rhubarb, filberts, and hops. If I can find the right spot, I'll start an asparagus bed, too.

[petalfuzz]

I'm never growing cherry tomatoes again--ever! The plant became a huge monster and I didn't like the variety. My parents loved them, but then went on vacation during peak harvest so all those tomatoes went into the compost. What a waste!

I'll try less tomato plants next year, but more beans. I thought I wouldn't grow swiss chard again but it does so well late in the season I might as well. Plus I love the look of the plant. I just grow it for my rabbit. We didn't like it.

I'm never letting tomatoes grow out of the compost again. They were very inferior in quality.

That's the beauty of gardening, right? There's always next year!

[hendi_alex]

My garden has avoided frost so far, but that first frost is getting close at hand. My only hope is that I have time and energy to get all of the tasks done, prior to starting over next spring.

Fall:
clean the garden beds of all dead summer growth
continue to tend cold hardy plants
plant garlic and additional greens
harvest leaves and layer the compost pile
prepare new raised beds and refurbish existing beds
put away all summer pots, baskets, and other materials
move tender plants into the greenhouse

Early winter:
start first tomato plants
continue adding to and working the compost pile
work diligently to keep greenhouse pests managed
mulch cold hardy plants and tender perenials

January:
harvest the last of the leaves for composting
mulch strawberry bed
fertilize strawberry plants
start second batch of tomato plants
plow annual flower beds

February
start majority of tomato plants
start most other transplants including peppers and eggplant
plant early planting of cold hardy spring plants
complete filling new raised beds
manage moving transplants back and forth between outside and heated space
start saving sprouted potatoes for planting

March
plant seed for squash and cucumber transplants
plant all other seeds for transplants including flowers and herbs

April
Gardening time officially arrives
transplant to garden and plant most crops

I'm sure that this is just a partial list, but one thing for sure, there is little idle time. The cold crops continue to grow and produce throughout the winter. The off season chores must continue like clockwork. And before I know it, I've gotten behind schedule and am having to hustle to get everything ready for spring planting dates.

[tedln]

You know when you go grocery shopping, certain items like flour are simply staples and your supply at home must stay replenished? I feel that way about certain vegetables. If couldn't grow an abundance of slicing tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash, and onions; I would quit gardening and take up a different hobby. My neighbors, friends, and family would probably sign a petition and force me to grow my garden. Other things like peppers, eggplant, lettuce, green beans and garlic are simply novelties that taste good. This means I must plant my Better Boy tomatoes, sweet slicer cucumbers, burpee yellow hybrid crookneck squash, and Texas A&M 1015 onions. Our daughter and neighbors became addicted to the Juliet tomatoes this year so I guess they will also become a staple. I feel this strong urge to plant a large variety of heirloom tomatoes next year just to find out what everyone is talking about. The funny thing is I always wind up with a lot of stuff planted that I had no intention of planting, but couldn't resist.

Ted