Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Things that did and did not work this year

The did nots:
*Lentils - I tried, once more, to grow lentils.  The chipmunks liked them - this means no lentils for me!
*Cucumbers - ditto.  I think with the drought, any plant that was fairly juicy was a goner.  Planted nine plants, only two survived the chipmunk onslaught, and we currently have our first two cucumbers on the vine about the size of my middle finger.  Quite a difference from last year!
*String beans - what?? We are always drowning in them, but this year the chipmunks either ate the seeds out of the ground, or mowed down the newly sprouted plants.
*Flax - this was a puppy problem.  Our first puppy felt the need to race into the garden by jumping off the patio and landing on the flax patch.
*Melons - the watermelon vines just shriveled and died - perhaps a vine borer that I missed?  the cantelope are growing but only male flowers, so they are pretty but not productive.

Dids:
*Tomatoes - this is the first time in about three years that I have had a bumper crop of tomatoes.
*Lettuces - gorgeous!
*Swiss chard - beautiful.
*Peas - they did well, but I feel like I do not have enough room to plant enough of them.
*Pineapple tomatillos - abundant, yet the chipmunks are getting to most of the ripe ones before us.
*Trombocini squash - you've seen the photos!
*Peppers were poor to average -  the tomatoes overshadowed them.
*The beets are also doing okay, but I am growing them for dye not food this time.

(Anyone have a good chipmunk deterrent or a few live traps they'd loan me???)