2008 Garden Reflections, Final Chapter

Basil and Tomatoes are said to do well together. Tomatoes are supposed to be more flavorful. I haven't noticed it myself but I think my tomatoes are pretty perfect to begin with. It's hard to notice any improvement of perfection :). THe tomatoes did really well in the annex, both the ones I planted and the ones that sprung up on their own. The yield might have been better if the tomatoes weren't so crowded and they might have ripened faster on the vine. I was hesitant to transplant any but next year I will if any should spring up. The basil was the best I've every had. This is the first year I started them from seed. Some of the plants were close to two feet tall and very bushy. In past years, the basil struggled to get enough sunlight in rows with the tomatoes. This year they were planted more in a 'square' mode other than rows. May-be that helped. I will try that again next year.
Two (green) thumbs up for basil and tomatoes.

The Three Sisters also did well. Lots of sweet peas and a fair yield on the corn. They were planted in the back of the garden in three rows. I planted radishes along with the sweet peas to discourage the corn boer. I rarely find any and this year I did see less. The thing is the radishes grew very fast and did get in the way of the sweet peas. I ended up taking them out early to mid July. I think next I will plant them a little later.
Two (green) thumbs up for the Three Sisters.

Total failures:
Garlic. They were something new I tried. I planted them at the bottom edge of the garden, between the lawn and the pumpkins. The long grass and the vines totally covered them and I found nary a garlic. Would like to try it again but should plant some where else.

Parsnips. Another new experiment. I planted them near the bottom of the garden, in front of the the Three Sisters. The tops grew well but the roots were long, thin and useless. If I try them again, I will really have to thin them out as the season progresses.

So that's about it for what I grew in the main veggie gardens. I think it was a good year. I do believe that after four years of putting compost and manure on is finally giving the plants a good healthy start. This year it was all my own compost and manure; may-be it was just a coincidence that the garden kind of 'popped' but I think that the bunny balls aka rabbit manure did help quite a bit. I'm looking forward to adding my own worm castings next spring!