Some end of the season thoughts from a gardener who has most likely lost what little mind he had.
If there is one thing that many years of gardening has taught me, it’s that you can spend a boatload of money and get small results. I’ve had occasion to hold up a tomato and realized that in order to produce it, I’d spent something like ten dollars in the process. (That included the labor (hours and hours), bags of soil purchased at a garden center, seeds ordered from Burpee, water and all the other stuff that had to be done to raise this one little beauty). It dawned on me that there was more to growing vegetables economically than first met my eye! Years later, I’m still learning something new every day!
My quintessential garden crop
My first lesson learned was the year I tried to plant everything under the sun (sixty dollars worth of seed from Burpee). I even had seed packets for vegetables I didn’t even like (okra comes to mind). I think I had enough seed to supply everyone on the block. I’ll admit to liking the pretty pictures in the catalogs. (Have you ever looked at a patty pan squash and not just loved it to death)? Have you ever eaten one?
So nowadays, I’ve paired down my growing efforts to be only those crops I knew I liked (and that I could grow). This list has gotten shorter over time:
Radishes – Cherry Belle. Used mostly in the spring as a marker crop.
Romaine – Little Caesar. A lettuce that is also nutritious! Spring and fall only,
Potatoes – Nutrient dense and a no-brainer to grow. Buy from local sources.
Tomatoes – Brandywine. Cause they taste so darn good!
Green beans – Kentucky Wonder is my pick for beans every year.
Cucumbers – A heirloom called Straight Eight!
Green peppers – California Wonder. Peppers rule!
Now, while there are other crops I will also sow like Nasturtiums and Basil, these are the ones I definitely plant every year. All of em, with the exception of the radish (Cherry Belle), romaine (Little Caesar) and the potatoes were purchased only once and then grown the next season from the seed I saved.
Obtaining those first seeds
While I’m on the subject, you don’t always have to go out and spend money on seed if you have generous friend(s) with similar interests. Begging works for me. Or, you can all get together in late winter and order in a coop fashion. One packet of romaine seed may contain over 300 seeds and if you start them indoors you’ll have plenty to share! Other seed can be saved each year to the point where you can share them back with your same friends.
Heirloom seeds
In case you might not know the difference, heirloom seed will always produce the exact same plant while a hybrid will most likely not. The reason many gardeners buy hybrids in the first place is due to the fact that they have been specially bred to resist certain diseases that may be common to your locale. However, there are proven ways to avoid these problems which just a little additional reading can cure. One book that really helped me out was titled ‘Seed Starting’ by Nancy Bubel. With seed packets costing in the three dollar range, it really pays to just save some seed and use it for next year. It’s your call.
Keeping your soil healthy
My first garden efforts not only included horrendous amounts of money spent on seed, but also on ‘soil amendments’. Stuff like vermiculite, peat moss, blood meal, phosphate and even sand. Since I had started with a poor soil (a silty clay loam from the bottom of a local river - yuk), I felt the need to try and improve it. (But, you’d be amazed at how many bags of compost and sand and vermiculite can disappear in a small raised bed). And all that money! Eventually, I found something that was worked just as well and which didn’t cost anything extra! Table scraps. Once, I began trench composting, I found I really did not need to add much else. After using homemade compost for a couple of years, I found that my soil is now chock full of earthworms and that’s always a good sign. Well, time to get back at it.
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