The research I did last winter proved to be golden in the gardens this year.
I planted parsley in between each Tomato plant and found my research to be correct...I didn't lose one tomato to the evil horned worm (better known as the Tomato worm) now granted I saw alot of white butterflys in the garden fluttering around, but apparently as soon as they got the scent of the parsley, they high-tailed it out of there not stopping to leave their eggs. the tomato plants also yielded a surprisingly large crop. Thank you to the butterfly's for leaving the garden before laying eggs, and thank you to the person who wrote the book on gardening. I wish I would have bought the book instead of borrowing from the library...oh well, lesson learned.
I have also learned that even though drying my Basil last year turned out fantastic due to the storage in a brown glass jar....I still have some left and the aroma and taste is wonderful.....I have since moved on to storing it in zip lock bags in the freezer and have found that once thawed, it still keeps its natural color (which is lost somewhat in the drying process), and it's flavor is just as robust as freshly picked basil from the garden. My family will enjoy this Basil all winter long.
The Zucchini plants were placed in two different gardens, as an experiment of different soil types and water saturation. In the raised bed that lays between the driveway and the house, there is rich black soil and it gets watered very infrequent....this has proven to be better for the Zucchini as they seem to flourish in dryer, richer soil, and seem to enjoy the "all day" sun exposure that this garden gets from the southern facing position of the garden, resulting in more fruit from these plants....the Zucchini that were planted in the eastern facing garden, in more of a clay based dirt that was watered more frequently did not produce many blossoms or fruit and the plants wilted more often. I believe the roots were being stifled by the clay and drowned by the water....struggling to stay alive they couldn't produce well.
As for the corn.......well, this was an experiment and by all intensive purposes it failed miserably..LOL The corn (as instructed) was planted close together so that pollination could take place.... however, the corn should be planted anywhere from 2 to 3 ft apart in a square not in rows...I did the square planting, unfortunately, I planted them too close (approx. 18 inches apart) and the result was corn ear mold and corn stalk smut. On the upside, I can still use the stalks for fall decorating....just wish we could have tasted the corn...oh well, there's always next year as they say, but I think that next year I'll buy my corn from the local farmers and call it a day. There is always a silver lining.
As for the Cabbage, they all produced well, downside being that we didn't plant very many...you get one Cabbage head per plant, I planted 5 and the possum ate one...again, the farmers motto, plant some for the bugs and blights, some for the critters and some for you...I guess I did.
The herb garden did fantastic, this year I added Cilantro (Coriander) which didn't do well at all, but in talking to a friend from Mexico, I was informed that the Cilantro won't produce well until the second year....so, I suppose I can be grateful that it didn't die. I'm still trying to find Tarragon at the plant nurseries in the spring...so far no luck, I'm beginning to believe that Tarragon just doesn't grow well here in Michigan....So there you have it, the entire growing season on a page...The summer definitely went too fast and fall is closing in quickly. I have a few more Tomato's to harvest and 2 more Cabbage heads. There will be a few more Zucchini's to pick and I still have a lot of herbs to dry or freeze...all in all it's been a great growing season! Hope yours has too.
