Things tried and failed:
- Blueberries - rotted on the stems during the rains
- Planting some of the seeds in the coconut fibre pots (basil, spinach, parsley, peas and bell peppers)
- Onions developed a disease that made them mushy and useless.
- Onion seeds planted last fall did not make it through the winter.
- Planting second corn mid-June was not successful. Corn in second planting never matured.
- Green beans were a bust this year.
- Problems this year with getting tomatoes to actually set on the vines (weather issues)
- Bell Peppers are unusually small this year!
- Strawberries tended to mold in the soil from all the rain and humidity in the air.
Things that worked:
- Garlic planted last fall thrived and matured by July.
- Planting lettuce and dill in the coconut fibre pots.
- Planting spinach seed directly in garden soil in early March was a huge success.
- Starting bell peppers in the green house was successful, but should have been started in February.
- Planting first corn mid-May was very successful.
- Corn was GREAT by August from first planting.
- Planting peas in five gallon pots in March and April was very successful.
- Planting lettuce in garden soil by the end of March was very successful.
- Carrots were GREAT!
- Potatoes were GREAT! Need to start them by mid February to expand on the growing season but be careful with freezing temps until mid March. Red potatoes did best this year.
- Oregano did GREAT this year. Needs to be thinned this fall for next year.
- Dill plants did great.
Things that need to be addressed for next year:
Slug control needs improvement.
Garden pest panels that we can easily set up and take down to protect from birds, bunnies and mice.
Green house starts were hit and miss. Some plants need to be planted outside, like peas, beans, basil, parsley (herbs in general) and spinach. Others that worked were some lettuce, dill, and bell peppers. Coconut fibre pots were expensive and basically not the best choice of starting pots.
Potatoes need more consistent soil addition, at least once per week to help promote better potato growth, but all in all, our potato production this year, despite the rains, was pretty good. By June, adding more soil was useless, except to protect the potatoes from the sun/heat.
