So the summer is ending and, while it wasn't a lot, we did manage to grow some things this year.
The most recent item to appear was a cucumber plant. I didn't even know I'd grown one! This plant was doing well but I really didn't know what it was (a good reason to label your seeds when you plant them) until the blossoms started to turn into fruit.
Next up, the tomatoes! We do have a couple "larger" tomatoes, but the cherry tomatoes (did not know we had those, but I got the plants second hand) have turned into a bumper crop. The red ones aren't lasting long as we tend to munch them pretty quickly.
The potatoes, which I really though would go well, are a bit, um, small. These are the Marris Pipers that we grew in the container. I had anticipated at least 10 pounds but we only got enough for a small colander. They're tasty though!
The other potatoes are even fewer (and many still in the ground), but given the hills weren't particularly big, that's not surprising. The plan for next year is one long, deep bin that we will build up with covering over the growing cycle like with the planter. Hopefully we can get a few pounds out of that.
But I'm not ready to give up this year yet! I've started some seedlings inside for late planting. Here we can see some cabbage (left) and cauliflower (right) beginning to sprout! The far left has carrot seeds too. Since the container potatoes have been all dug up I plan to use that bin of dirt for the carrots. Not sure about the cabbage and cauliflower yet though as I'm not sure just how much sun they'll need. They may end up in pots that can be moved around the garden.
While we didn't get everything we planted, we still did much better than last year. I'm sure next year will be even better, and I've already marked my calendar for when to order seeds and when to start sprouting inside. We're hardly at a level of self-sufficiency, but at least it's a start.
The most recent item to appear was a cucumber plant. I didn't even know I'd grown one! This plant was doing well but I really didn't know what it was (a good reason to label your seeds when you plant them) until the blossoms started to turn into fruit.
Cucumber
Next up, the tomatoes! We do have a couple "larger" tomatoes, but the cherry tomatoes (did not know we had those, but I got the plants second hand) have turned into a bumper crop. The red ones aren't lasting long as we tend to munch them pretty quickly.
Cherry tomatoes
The potatoes, which I really though would go well, are a bit, um, small. These are the Marris Pipers that we grew in the container. I had anticipated at least 10 pounds but we only got enough for a small colander. They're tasty though!
The other potatoes are even fewer (and many still in the ground), but given the hills weren't particularly big, that's not surprising. The plan for next year is one long, deep bin that we will build up with covering over the growing cycle like with the planter. Hopefully we can get a few pounds out of that.
The Marris Piper harvest
But I'm not ready to give up this year yet! I've started some seedlings inside for late planting. Here we can see some cabbage (left) and cauliflower (right) beginning to sprout! The far left has carrot seeds too. Since the container potatoes have been all dug up I plan to use that bin of dirt for the carrots. Not sure about the cabbage and cauliflower yet though as I'm not sure just how much sun they'll need. They may end up in pots that can be moved around the garden.
Seedlings for late planting
While we didn't get everything we planted, we still did much better than last year. I'm sure next year will be even better, and I've already marked my calendar for when to order seeds and when to start sprouting inside. We're hardly at a level of self-sufficiency, but at least it's a start.
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