Today, I am plotting—um, I mean planning—my garden. What shall I grow this year? I want plants that will thrive in the new reality of climate instability and are disease-resistant, especially to common diseases in our garden, like cucumber mosaic virus. Yes, plants get viruses. (Achoo!) I want to arrange my plants so they don't grow or lean into the path or my neighbor's plots. I also want to be careful of space-hogging plants in my 2025 garden.
First, let's look at what grew well last year, with the cool, wet spring, typical hot summer (with a streak of horrible 90+ degree days), and months-long drought.
Swiss chard and kale did well at the beginning of the season. Collards have done well in past years. Beets did well in the spring, but I didn't harvest them in time. Mizuna "Miz America" was a nice surprise, and the pink mizuna did well as usual. Batavian Endive was another nice surprise, producing lovely, lush heads of salad greens. The collards and kale planted last spring did well throughout the season, but the plants are now battered from this winter's snow. Cauliflower Romesco was a bust. The harlequin bugs destroyed it.
Cherry tomatoes did well; other tomatoes not so much. The Sungold and wild red cherry tomatoes continued to produce until frost. I even found a Sungold tomato in a sheltered spot in late December. Eggplant did well. Hot peppers produced well, but my sweet lunchbox pepper plant caught a virus. (Ahhh Choo!) Purslane did really well, as always, and is now a food crop rather than a weed in my garden.
The herbs were amazing, especially the roselle and ever-present mint. (Grow it in a pot and don't let it escape!) Lemon balm continued to expand, growing into the pathway. Oops! The basil needs another spot away from the vining cherry tomatoes. Syrian oregano did well. Lovage is seeding itself around the garden.
Next, let's look at what grew where, especially tomatoes and cucurbits. These plants need to be grown in a different spot this year to minimize disease pressure. This is called crop rotation. I plan my crop rotations around the tomatoes. I sketch out a garden plan and make changes until I am happy with it.
Then reality hits, as I go out to the garden to see the work I must do to pull winter weeds and prepare my garden beds for planting. Fortunately, it's early in the season, with days of surprisingly nice weather. See you in the garden!
