What won't you grow next year or are still trying to grow??

My big "won't try again" are Rutgers tomatoes - they diseased early and produced few fruit.  They were pulled this am and the MM will go into a flower box.

Radishes and beets (I'm guessing because of the weird weather) did nothing - will try them again in early Sept.   Too late to re-try pole beans - don't know what happened there.  But, next year - look out!!

In the failed but going to try again category I have several herbs and some greens (notably orach... isn't that supposed to be an easy, weedy one?) that I either couldn't get to germinate or couldn't get to thrive. I'll try again next year, possibly with new seed packets from different companies. (There wasn't any company that I had a consistent problem with.) I also still trying to dial in the best timing for my radishes, beets, and cool season greens.

Tomatoes: Sweetie cherry tomato- keep!, Chadwick cherry tomato - pass (very healthy, and not at all bad, but I prefer Sweetie's size and flavor), Rutgers - reduce # (disease/growth problems here, too), Green Zebra - keep!, Black Krim - keep, undecided about growing same # -- bad cracking problems.

I'm uncertain about growing cowpeas and long beans again. I won't be growing intermediate (or short) day onions next year - long day seems to be the way to go for my location. I won't be growing Thai hot peppers next year - the yield from this year looks like it will last me for a few years. I probably won't grow Grey zucchini again - I'll be growing the Table Dainty vining zucchinis, and I might try out a PMR bush variety if I can find one. (Powdery Mildew Resistant.)

I'm going to skip Sierra Gold Canteloupe next year so that I can try Minnesota Midget. I haven't tried the SG canteloupes yet (not ripe yet) but I know I want a plant that tends to be smaller and earlier.

Vine peach -- YUK! They're nothing but round salty cucumbers. They are very productive, however, and no problems with pests or disease, so if you put salt on your cukes anyway, you might like them.

No more vines when bush varieties are available. Maybe there are other considerations I'm not aware of, but all of my vine plants grew huge, got in the way, and (so far) have produced very little. Next year I'll go for the more compact bush varieties whenever possible.

I will grow dwarf blue curly kale all year round. I got a late start and only planted a few because I thought they'd die in our summer heat, but it didn't bother them a bit. They got through summer better than any of my summer crops -- go figure.

So far:  Never before have I grown a determinate paste type tomato, will do a couple plants, very nice to use in the wonderful LlamaMama crockpot sauce!  They were a gift, so no idea what they were.  Little, round.  Meaty.

Tomatoes:  Yes: Ox Heart--need better support!  Sungold cherry, Cherokee Purple, but had radial crack....and Great White.  Maybe one:  German Green.  

Peppers:  Yes to all:  sweet banana, Big Red, and King of the North--all great!

Ground cherries: yes!  

Beets, carrots, radishes, lettuces, spinach absolutely!  Matchless lettuce sticks out as a major yummy thing.  Black Seeded Simpson also.  Would not bother with the Kaleidoscope carrots, I like the Tendersweet and sugar Snax in that order.  Best radish was sparkler and white icicle/French breakfast.  

Patty pans squash:  yes, but again too many.  Had volunteers in the compost pile and did not want nor need them.

Kale:  Dwarf blue Vates, undecided....why do people grow this?  It was HUGE.  And honestly was still vigorous when I pulled the 2" thick stemmed thing out because I have no idea what to do with it......

Yukon Gold potatoes:  Absolutely

Melons:  Sakatas Sweet, Minnesota Midget yes for sure!  Very tasty and productive!  

Watermelons:  Blacktail Mountain:  To Be Determined.

Onions:  I have 2 out there....no idea.  Honest.  IDK.

Cukes: Beit Alpha--the bomb.  No skin, no seeds sweet and tasty.  Not a pickle.

Pole beans:  Blauhilde purple beans, amazing taste, texture, production.

I forgot about Armenian cucumbers -- my BEST crop so far. Heat tolerant. Long, straight, beautiful fruit. Crisp, mild flavor. Highly productive. That's an exception to my vine vs bush rule. Can't say enough good stuff about these guys.  

This is an interesting question.  One thing I will make more use of the BTE or in-ground garden strip where the sunflowers are.  Really amend the ground with fresh horse manure in the fall and cover back up with wood chips.  I will put the determinant tomatoes in half of it with cages.  The indeterminant tomatoes will go in the newest 2 x 7' bed because it has nice overhead supports.  I will save the beds for root crops, greens, herbs, peppers, eggplant, and trellis crops.  The beds also have PVC frames for bridal tulle or other covers for precious crops.  

Tomatoes - Quit trying to grow heirlooms like a homesteader.    It's just too hard to grow them n the brutal hot and dry summer.  I will try varieties that are hybrids or have numbers or letters!   Yes again to Snow Fairy, Sun Gold and Roma.  All the others will be the new packages.

No more okra in a bed.  Maybe at the north end of the BTE strip if at all.

No more winter onions, unless I find a short day variety.
 
Cantaloupes - no more MN midget, just Hales, Thai Golden Round, and maybe try one Sugar watermelon.

Cucumbers - yes to Armenian as a new one, and Muncher again.  No more lemon or apple.

Maybe try tomatillos in the BTE strip but no more trying in the large containers.

This is my 4th summer so I've got a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't for me.  This year there were aphids, grasshoppers, leaf-footed beetle, green worms (where I was careless), tomato worms, scale, red mites and Curly Top Virus (not to be confused with the Leaf Curl Virus in 2014!).  The Eight Plagues.  But no powdery mildew at all!!!

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:I probably won't grow Grey zucchini again - I'll be growing the Table Dainty vining zucchinis, and I might try out a PMR bush variety if I can find one. (Powdery Mildew Resistant.)

'Dunja' is supposedly PM resistant.  I keep trying to find out but haven't been able to get it to stay alive yet due to SVB.  Maybe you can.  My neighbor had great beginners luck with the little start I gave her last year and kept the zucchini bread a'comin.

Every spring my battle cry is "I WILL PREVAIL!".

CC

countrynaturals wrote:
I will grow dwarf blue curly kale all year round. I got a late start and only planted a few because I thought they'd die in our summer heat, but it didn't bother them a bit. They got through summer better than any of my summer crops -- go figure.

Dwarf Blue Curly is an old favorite in my SFG. It gets thru everything and keeps on truckin. And the leaves seem to be more tender than other kales, to me anyway, making it great for smoothies and salads.

CC

I will not grow broccoli or cauliflower again...too many years of dedicating time and space to starting seeds indoors, grow lights, watering, planting, keeping cabbage loopers away and no heads forming...too easy to buy at the market and focus on other things.

I will not grow Kale again...easy to grow but did not like it vs. the space it took.

I will probably not grow san marzano tomatoes again...found other productive roma types instead.

I don't think I'll grow very many hot peppers next year. I'm the only one in the house that eats them! I'm glad I never gave up on sweet peppers, because this year we got a bumper crop. The only think I'd drop completely is carrots though. They take forever- and are super shrimpy.

Landarch, what more productive paste type tomatoes?  I had 2 given to me, they were great making Llamamama's sauce but I have no idea what they are!

I really have kale regrets....it is so expensive and touted superfood....what do ya do with it? It grows literally like a weed.  Huge.  I don't know....

I am not making smoothies.

Sanderson, you should not grow MN Midgets!  You should grow the amazing Indiana melons that are like sugar! I am not sure what they are.  Grow the ones we can't!

Scorpio Rising wrote:Sanderson, you should not grow MN Midgets!  You should grow the amazing Indiana melons that are like sugar! I am not sure what they are.  Grow the ones we can't!

What?   I just planted MN Midgets. What's wrong with growing them?

CapeCoddess wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:
I will grow dwarf blue curly kale all year round. I got a late start and only planted a few because I thought they'd die in our summer heat, but it didn't bother them a bit. They got through summer better than any of my summer crops -- go figure.

Dwarf Blue Curly is an old favorite in my SFG.  It gets thru everything and keeps on truckin.  And the leaves seem to be more tender than other kales, to me anyway, making it great for smoothies and salads.

CC

And our rabbit loves it, too.

Scorpio Rising wrote:Landarch, what more productive paste type tomatoes?  I had 2 given to me, they were great making Llamamama's sauce but I have no idea what they are!

I really have kale regrets....it is so expensive and touted superfood....what do ya do with it? It grows literally like a weed.  Huge.  I don't know....

I am not making smoothies.

I grow the dwarf blue kale and pick when the leaves are lettuce-size. We boil them in ham juice, drain, then cut up a hard-boiled egg in them. Yummy. I made the mistake of growing the large-leaf kale one year (don't know what variety) but I let it grow too big and it was tough and bitter. Lesson learned.

Nothing is wrong with MN Midgets!  

They are wonderful, sweet, and prolific, but if I could grow a longer season cantaloupe, I would.  I am sorry if I gave off any bad vibes....they are great yummy early melons for eating.  One of my faves!

If I could grow the Indiana type or sugar rock, I would.  They are much larger, and just as delicious!  And super sweet.

countrynaturals wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:Sanderson, you should not grow MN Midgets!  You should grow the amazing Indiana melons that are like sugar! I am not sure what they are.  Grow the ones we can't!

What?   I just planted MN Midgets. What's wrong with growing them?

Not a thing! You will love them!  I just wish I could grow the long season melons!  But the shorties taste just as good, just a lot smaller.

Watermelon. I gave up on it last year. I planted it both in the spring and fall. Between the two seasons I ended with 3 watermelons which all split when they were all a little bit larger than a softball.

CN, I think my mid-short day latitude is not the best for MN Midgets. The Hales (?) does better.

sanderson wrote:CN,  I think my mid-short day latitude is not the best for MN Midgets.  The Hales (?) does better.

Well, that's not good, considering my Hales gave me one whole melon.  There's a chance it will revive now that the weather is cooler, but I'm not holding my breath. 

Some of my SFG boxes have flowers (marigold, calendula and nasturtium) planted in them, especially in the corner squares. The flowers are pretty, add colour to the beds, and can be used for cut flowers or even for eating. Some plants like the marigolds help with insect control. However, these plants tend to get quite big and overflow their squares which impacts the growing of veggies in the adjacent squares. I either need to do a better job of cutting them back, controlling them, or perhaps use less squares for flowers in the future. It's not like we don't have a zillion other places to grow flowers in our garden.

I put 4 marigolds in a square and have to do major pruning. They don't seem bothered at all by pruning.

Someone asked what good Kale is for?  I'll tell you a very important use 

My sweet hubby was diagnosed with pre-macular degeneration (his dad has it full blown in his 90s).  The doctor prescribed vitamins and they helped so-so in bringing his pigment count back up.  In a phone conversation with her she mentioned eating dark green leafy vegetables, so I suggested to him that we juice my kale and swiss chard and he could mix it with v8 (he's not a fan of kale etc or green juices).  

In just over a month his pigment counts went from around 19 to 45 and have stayed up since.  I can literally see the difference in his eyes - the pupils were getting a faded washed out look and they're now back to beautiful chocolate brown! 

We juice the greens and then he freezes them into ice cubes and has one each morning and evening mixed with v8 and his fiber.

That is interesting, thanks, Audrey.  I think I would purée them and freeze in cubes to use later in stuff.

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote:Someone asked what good Kale is for?  I'll tell you a very important use 

My sweet hubby was diagnosed with pre-macular degeneration (his dad has it full blown in his 90s).  The doctor prescribed vitamins and they helped so-so in bringing his pigment count back up.  In a phone conversation with her she mentioned eating dark green leafy vegetables, so I suggested to him that we juice my kale and swiss chard and he could mix it with v8 (he's not a fan of kale etc or green juices).  

In just over a month his pigment counts went from around 19 to 45 and have stayed up since.  I can literally see the difference in his eyes - the pupils were getting a faded washed out look and they're now back to beautiful chocolate brown! 

We juice the greens and then he freezes them into ice cubes and has one each morning and evening mixed with v8 and his fiber.

I love that story! I'm a huge fan of greens because of the nutrient content. I sometimes think they can cure just about anything, and my health guru, Dr. Fuhrman, agrees.
CC