As this year’s growing season comes to an end, what lessons have you learned?

General
1

I’ll start:

  • It’s not a good idea to plant two kinds of potatoes next to each other, especially if they look similar but have wildly different boiling times.
  • Flowers can grow taller than me, so I should read the seed packet and plant them according to their potential height.
  • I hate watering, so I should install automatic watering systems next year, or not plant anything at all.
  • If I buy cheap soil, I need to fertilize with compost before planting.
  • Buying grow lights and starting plants in my cellar was a stellar idea!
  • I should focus on planting vegetables that I enjoy eating right away, as I don’t have the patience for preserving.
  • Slugs are still the root of a lot of evil.

What about you?"

2

I learned not to plant just five of each type of seed. Five tomato seeds can grow into five plants, each yielding up to a couple dozen fruits. However, five carrot seeds will only give you five carrots.

3

I can relate! :sweat_smile: I did the same thing and ended up harvesting only about seven carrots.

4

That made me laugh, thank you!

5

Please tell me how you manage to get 5 carrots from 5 seeds. I’m lucky if I get 5 carrots from an entire pack!

6

I did something similar with cilantro. I started questioning why I was growing it at all since it’s so cheap in the produce aisle and goes bad quickly. So, I gave up on that one.

7

Fences really do help keep animals out of the garden.

Squirrels will steal tomatoes, and there’s nothing you can do about it except hope your plants produce enough that you don’t notice.

Tomatoes prefer being in the ground rather than in grow bags. It’s also really hard to cage or support them in a bag.

We don’t eat Swiss chard, no matter how pretty it is. It’s not inedible, but no one in this house wants to figure out what to do with it.

Stop buying bush varieties of beans. They won’t trellis, even if you put a trellis near them. That’s just not what they do

8

Add a water source to your garden so that thirsty chipmunks and squirrels don’t need to take a bite out of your juicy fruits to get their water intake.

9

We actually have multiple water sources: a fountain/bird bath and two still butterfly/bee watering spots. The local cats seem to enjoy the larger butterfly waterer. :smiley:

At least the animals are eating most of what they steal, and someone else finishes it off. I’m not a fan of when they take just one bite and ruin my harvest…

10

Ahh, perhaps then feeding them in a far corner will help. Or get chickens and ducks to patrol. I haven’t seen a squirrel in my garden for years because of the fear they have for them! But they do sit on the edge of the property angrily “gwerk gwerking” at me.

11

I can totally relate to the Swiss chard comment :sweat_smile:. It’s so pretty, but I’ve realized I enjoy looking at it more than eating it!

12

I eat salads with Swiss chard and kale all summer, since lettuce and spinach don’t survive the heat. I find chard to have a pretty neutral taste, maybe even a bit sweet, especially compared to kale.

13

Consider planting them in your flower bed for their beauty. You don’t have to eat them if you don’t like them, but you can still enjoy their appearance and the joy they bring to your garden.

14

I like to cut my chard into ribbons and enjoy it with scrambled eggs, garden tomatoes, and chives!

15

@WrenRowan
@Casey_Morgan
I feel you on the bean trellis. Tried the same thing, it looked really pretty but did no good whatsoever

16

Determinate tomatoes are easy to grow in bags, but I wouldn’t recommend it for indeterminate varieties.

For chard, try sautéing it with any salad dressing. I usually use Italian or Thousand Island. I also add onions and whatever else I have on hand.