Home Vegetable gardens 2014 Vegetable Garden 2014: Harvests

Vegetable Garden 2014: Harvests

I’m separating harvests from the planning/sowing, to be able to compare (for myself in fact) the harvest from year to years. I’m starting to be very happy, it’s the 3rd year and I’m starting to have more and more diversity with success, for a vegetable garden of ~100m² which I’m not taking care of much, I’m more than happy. This year I tried lazy ways of sowing carrots, which means I didn’t get many carrots because I failed most of them, but I’m happy, for next year, I know what to do!
And for the rest, last year I had black corn and more squash, this year I didn’t sow corn because I didn’t want it in the vegetable garden, next year it will go with the squashes and climbing beans in a place I prepared, to make the 3 sisters method, I now know at which speed grows what, I’ll be able to do the 3 together successfully, sowing them all at the same time doesn’t work! At least not with the varieties I’ve got. I sowed the squashes too late this year and still also because I lack space.. But I’m keeping the seeds. For the tomatoes I’m just extremely happy, the installation I imagined just works wonders, maybe a bit too small still, but I haven’t got much to complain.. And I have the seeds of the mutated/mildew resistant (or a least starting to resist) tomatoes for next year!
All in all, I’m thrilled for this year 2014, even though there were some failures, it’s normal you have got to make mistake to learn. Always without any watering, no weeding (well, maybe once a month), leaving the insects do what they please, I’m very happy!
In 2015 I want to learn about winter vegetables, it’s one of the last aspects I haven’t got much practice, with that I should start to have enough to feed on for more than 9 months in a year just from that small 100m² garden, it’s not very diversified, but it’s just for testing. Imagine what I’ll be able to do the day I have 1000m² or 10000m² etc. because my methods require almost no maintenance, everything grows on its own once set up, it’s just the initial planning that takes a bit of time, after that it because pure pleasure to just see the plants grow healthy on their own and see what they can offer.
My philosophy is very simple, give the best space and conditions possible for the life of these plants, that’s it, abundant harvests are just a natural consequence of this philosophy.
It’s not much for harvests in the end, but I’m very happy, it’s going in the right direction; more and more varieties (and more rustic/perennials varieties implanted once and for all), more and more of my own seeds and my knowledge of increases. There are many things I didn’t mark down, all the swiss chards I ate, the chenopods, Rhubarb, currants, strawberries, raspberries, beans, peas, radishes, beetroots, kohlrabi, the mints, sage, rosemary, lovage, and a lot of tomatoes… And the perennials well implanted are just great, next year I’m ready to add more and probably grapes as well!

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