Overall, I think the SFG method worked rather well, at least as far as space is concerned. I definitely noticed extra room in the garden this season and I think I had a bigger yield than last season. The only issue I really saw was my tomato production, particularly the dazzleberries and rugters…only 11 and 10 respectively. Maybe it was the location of the plants, but I think squirrels played a part in this as well. Next season I think I’m going to grow two or three tomato plants upside-down from one of the trellises and see how that goes. Should be interesting to compare what kind of yield I get along with seeing how it might impact any pest/disease issues (squirrels!).

I also had issues growing beets. None of them really turned out all that great…basically leaves and a root, no meat in between. I’ll need to investigate this over the winter and see if I can improve next season. Same thing was happening with some of the radishes.

Something else I’ll be trying next season is to grow everything from seed. I’ll be constructing a seed tray this winter that combines a few different designs I’ve seen online. If it turns out like I think, should be a handy, no-mess contraption for indoor seed starting.

And I also never got around to planting a second crop for fall harvest. I wanted to plant radishes and a few other vegetables to see how they produced later in the season with cooler temps. Next season!

Here’s the final harvest count for the season.

* Radishes: 29
* Green Onions: 26
* Lettuce: 125 (leaves)
* Onions: 11
* Beets: 7
* Squash: 30
* Banana Pepper: 36
* Jalapeno Pepper: 57 (half frozen/dried)
* Super Chilis: 242 (majority frozen/dried)
* Pole Beans: 938
* Slicing Cucumber: 72
* Pickling Cucumber: 91
* Cherry Tomato: 344
* 4th July Tomato: 54
* Green Pepper: 15
* Carrots: 44
* Rutgers Tomato: 19
* Eggplant: 29
* Roma Tomato: 54
* Dazzleberry Tomato: 11
* Wild Cherry Tomato: 24
* Leeks: 8.5 (one small plant)

Squirrel Wars 2011 Victims:
At this point, these are estimations.
* Rutgers Tomato: 9
* Pickling Cucumber: 2
* Slicing Cucumber: 6
* Roma Tomato: 5
* 4th July Tomato: 1
* Cherry Tomato: 15+
* Strawberries
* Squash: 1

Pest Issue (occurs every year, but now I know what’s causing it)
* Green Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 2
* Jalapeno Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 2
* Banana Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 5

Since I still have a good amount of parsley, I’ll be pulling it some time in the next week to dry it for parsley flakes. Hopefully the leeks hold out until I have a chance to use them all (about six plants remaining.)

I pulled the wild cherry tomato plant today as well. There were still a lot of tomatoes on it…at least 30…not bad for a plant I didn’t do a thing with. Maybe I’ll plant another one in the same place next year (next to the house).

Harvest Count
* Radishes: 29
* Green Onions: 26
* Lettuce: 125 (leaves)
* Onions: 11
* Beets: 7
* Squash: 30
* Banana Pepper: 36
* Jalapeno Pepper: 57
* Super Chilis: 242
* Pole Beans: 938
* Slicing Cucumber: 72
* Pickling Cucumber: 91
* Cherry Tomato: 344
* 4th July Tomato: 54
* Green Pepper: 15
* Carrots: 44
* Rutgers Tomato: 19
* Eggplant: 29
* Roma Tomato: 54
* Dazzleberry Tomato: 11
* Wild Cherry Tomato: 24
* Leeks: 2

Squirrel Wars 2011 Victims:
At this point, these are estimations.
* Rutgers Tomato: 9
* Pickling Cucumber: 2
* Slicing Cucumber: 6
* Roma Tomato: 5
* 4th July Tomato: 1
* Cherry Tomato: 15+
* Strawberries
* Squash: 1

Pest Issue (occurs every year, but now I know what’s causing it)
* Green Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 2
* Jalapeno Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 2
* Banana Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 5

I still have tomato, eggplant, green peppers, sweet peppers, jalapenos, chili peppers, and leeks in the ground. We’ll see what survived the night.

Josh Brown: In 2008, the American people were told that if they didn’t bail out the banks, there way of life would never be the same. In no uncertain terms, our leaders told us anything short of saving these insolvent banks would result in a depression to the American public. We had to do it!

At our darkest hour we gave these banks every single thing they asked for. We allowed investment banks to borrow money at zero percent interest rate, directly from the Fed. We gave them taxpayer cash right onto their balance sheets. We allowed them to suspend account rules and pretend that the toxic sludge they were carrying was worth 100 cents on the dollar. Anything to stave off insolvency. We left thousands of executives in place at these firms. Nobody went to jail, not a single perp walk. I can’t even think of a single example of someone being fired. People resigned with full benefits and pensions, as though it were a job well done.

The American taxpayer kicked in over a trillion dollars to help make all of this happen. But the banks didn’t hold up their end of the bargain. The banks didn’t seize this opportunity, this second chance to re-enter society as a constructive agent of commerce. Instead, they went back to business as usual. With $20 billion in bonuses paid during 2009. Another $20 billion in bonuses paid in 2010. And they did this with the profits they earned from zero percent interest rates that actually acted as a tax on the rest of the economy.

Instead of coming back and working with this economy to get back on its feet, they hired lobbyists by the dozen to fight tooth and nail against any efforts whatsoever to bring common sense regulation to the financial industry. Instead of coming back and working with the people, they hired an army of robosigners to process millions of foreclosures. In many cases, without even having the proper paperwork to evict the homeowners. Instead, the banks announced layoffs in the tens of thousands, so that executives at the top of the pile could maintain their outrageous levels of compensation.

We bailed out Wall Street to avoid Depression, but three years later, millions of Americans are in a living hell. This is why they’re enraged, this why they’re assembling, this is why they hate you. Why for the first time in 50 years, the people are coming out in the streets and they’re saying, “Enough.”

You can read the article here.

* Radishes: 29
* Green Onions: 26
* Lettuce: 125 (leaves)
* Onions: 11
* Beets: 7
* Squash: 30
* Banana Pepper: 30
* Jalapeno Pepper: 42
* Super Chilis: 168
* Pole Beans: 938
* Slicing Cucumber: 72
* Pickling Cucumber: 91
* Cherry Tomato: 333
* 4th July Tomato: 54
* Green Pepper: 12
* Carrots: 44
* Rutgers Tomato: 19
* Eggplant: 28
* Roma Tomato: 53
* Dazzleberry Tomato: 11
* Wild Cherry Tomato: 24
* Leeks: 1

Squirrel Wars 2011 Victims:
At this point, these are estimations.
* Rutgers Tomato: 9
* Pickling Cucumber: 2
* Slicing Cucumber: 6
* Roma Tomato: 5
* 4th July Tomato: 1
* Cherry Tomato: 15+
* Strawberries
* Squash: 1

Pest Issue (occurs every year, but now I know what’s causing it)
* Green Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 2
* Jalapeno Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 2
* Banana Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 5

First, and probably the main reason, is that I’ve been super-busy with work. It’s been taking up pretty much all my time. I’m finally getting the grass cut today…definitely needs it!

Second, I have dismal-looking pickling cucumber vines staring me in the face when I walk out the door. The mildew and wilt are over-powering the plants. There’s a couple new vines growing, but I’m not expecting too much out of them. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m definitely not disappointed in the harvest this season. I picked almost 100 pickling cucumbers off these vines. I was able to make about a dozen jars of pickles (sliced, whole, and bread/butter slices) which was the main purpose of planting this season.

Besides the cucumbers, the squash is also just about done for the season. I picked about four off the plants last week, but I’m not seeing anything else develop. I pulled one plant last week. The two remaining are growing crazy vines all over the ground…this way and that. It’s odd how these squash plants develop over the season…first, a nice big “round” plant. Over time, as it continues to grow, it starts sprawling out, running “tentacles” in various directions. These plants definitely need the room to grow, but I guess I could always trim them back? (Note to self)

Third, I honestly think I’m just losing interest in the garden. I’ve been looking after it for almost five months now, pretty much on a daily basis. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it. It just doesn’t have the “zing!” that it had early in the season. It seems to turn more into a chore around this time. Which brings me to one of the main points I decided to try a SFG vs. the typical rows. The maintenance was supposed to be less. I honestly don’t see much difference in maintenance. I’m still pulling the same amount of weeds, and actually trimming more than last season to keep the plants in their square boundaries and the tomatoes growing vertically. I think the biggest advantage of the SFG is that you can plant more in less space. I definitely used less space for the garden this season, but produced much more than last season, so that’s a plus.

Speaking of pluses, the pole beans have exploded in production. I’ve probably picked around 400 in the past week, about 100 just this morning. I’ve noticed this trend with the pole beans I grow…I get several harvests in June/July, then the hot weather shows up. At this point, the leaves start to grow and the beans stop. Once the hot weather passes, typically some time in August, the beans come back like they are now.

I still haven’t planted anything for a Fall harvest. At this point, it looks like it’ll be radishes if I get to them in time.

Harvest Count
* Radishes: 29
* Green Onions: 26
* Lettuce: 125 (leaves)
* Onions: 11
* Beets: 7
* Squash: 27
* Banana Pepper: 20
* Jalapeno Pepper: 24
* Super Chilis: 145
* Pole Beans: 809
* Slicing Cucumber: 69
* Pickling Cucumber: 91
* Cherry Tomato: 297
* 4th July Tomato: 31
* Green Pepper: 6
* Carrots: 23
* Rutgers Tomato: 16
* Eggplant: 27
* Roma Tomato: 43
* Dazzleberry Tomato: 11
* Wild Cherry Tomato: 8

Squirrel Wars 2011 Victims:
At this point, these are estimations.
* Rutgers Tomato: 9
* Pickling Cucumber: 2
* Slicing Cucumber: 1
* Roma Tomato: 4
* 4th July Tomato: 1
* Cherry Tomato: 10+

Pest Issue (occurs every year, but now I know what’s causing it)
* Green Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 2
* Jalapeno Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 2
* Banana Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 5

The pickling cucumber vines have seen better days, mostly due to the powdery mildew. Still producing, but there’s less and less of the vines every day. I thought I was putting up a good battle, that after that really hot weather a few weeks back, the mildew just seemed to appear all over the cucumber vines. The squash plants are getting smaller as well from the leaves I continue to prune, but the plants are still producing as well. I think this has something to do with the cooler weather as well..I have about five squash developing on the plants.

As far as garden pests, I haven’t seen a bean beetle for some time now, but I’m still seeing holes in my bean leaves. But the thing is, I’m not really seeing MORE holes, but about the same. I’m going to start picking off these leaves to see if anything new appears. Maybe they’re gone? I’m not sure, but they haven’t really been destroying the beans, only some of the leaves, so I’m not too concerned with them. I’m still seeing striped cucumber beetles on the cucumbers and somewhat around the squash plants…probably a few less than I was seeing earlier in the season, but they’re still around.

I think the biggest problem I’ll be facing for the next month is squirrels. I caught one in the garden the other day and chased him away. I’ve been keeping a tally of what I’ve lost to the squirrels this season. Not THAT bad at this point, but I’d like to see the list reduced. You can see my current tally at the bottom of this post.

Also, I haven’t been watering on regular basis for the past several weeks. We’ve been getting decent rain, but there were a few days where we didn’t have rain and I didn’t water..maybe three-day spreads here and there. I think this is the reason by eggplants are starting to split. I picked about ten today and half of them are splitting down the side. I’ll need to read up on this to see if it’s a lack of constant moisture or something else.

And I still haven’t planted my fall crops. I’ve been really busy with work (working weekends), so I haven’t really had the time. I think I’m going to end up planting two or three squares of radishes at different depths and amounts of fertilizer to see what does best.

Current Harvest Count:
* Radishes: 29
* Green Onions: 26
* Lettuce: 125 (leaves)
* Onions: 8
* Beets: 7
* Squash: 23
* Banana Pepper: 13
* Jalapeno Pepper: 20
* Super Chilis: 109
* Pole Beans: 388
* Slicing Cucumber: 56
* Pickling Cucumber: 88
* Cherry Tomato: 188
* 4th July Tomato: 31
* Green Pepper: 5
* Carrots: 16
* Rutgers Tomato: 16
* Eggplant: 27
* Roma Tomato: 31
* Dazzleberry Tomato: 11

Squirrel (Raccoon?) Wars 2011 Victims:
* Rutgers Tomato: 9
* Pickling Cucumber: 2
* Slicing Cucumber: 1
*Roma Tomato: 1

Pest Issue (occurs every year, but now I know what’s causing it)
* Green Pepper (Pepper Maggot): 1

The squash production has slowed down. I don’t see too many new buds, probably because I had to cut away 90% of the plant. I don’t think I’ll be seeing too many more squash this season.

Even though I’m seeing mildew more and more on the pickling cucumbers, it doesn’t seem to be effecting production. I still have plenty of cucumbers on the vine and pick at least one on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the trellis netting is deteriorating more and more every day…almost had a total collapse of the cucumber vines a few days ago. I’ve since used string to help secure the vines. Hopefully, it holds out until the end of the season.

The bean plants have been producing less lately, similar to last year. Ever since we had that hot weather, beans have been few and far in between, but the vegetation is growing…a lot of leaves on the vines. I remember from last year, this happen for several weeks and then the beans started coming back again. I’ll have to keep an eye on the situation and see how it goes. The bean leaf beetles are still an issue as I’m still seeing swiss cheese leaves.

As far as the eggplant, I’m not sure if I’ll be planting this again next year, mainly because there’s not a whole lot you can do with it. If anything, maybe I’ll plant the bigger variety and not the Little Fingers. Also, they go bad quickly once picked, so be sure you have plans for it.

I ended up pulling the cilantro plants. I pulled three of them a week or so again, after we had that really hot (100 degree) weather. I think it might of just been too much for them. They never really bounced back after it. I pulled the remaining three today, so no more cilantro. And I probably won’t be planting it next season unless I get on a salsa kick. I didn’t really use that much this year. If anything, maybe I’ll grow one plant next year.

I finally pulled all the first round carrots today. I’m very please on how they all turned out..only one or two looked deformed, the rest were a good size and tasty! I still have two squares of carrots growing, so I don’t think we’ll need to plant any more this season. I predict the next square will be ready in a few weeks, and the last a few weeks after that, probably early October.

I have yet to plant the vegetables I mentioned back on day 88, rutabaga, white icicle radishes, baby spinach, and Italian (bull’s eye) beets, so I need to get those in the ground this weekend, particularly the rutabaga, spinach, and beets. The radishes come up quick, so it may still be too hot for them in August. Maybe I’ll plant those in another week or two.

Harvest Update
* Radishes: 29
* Green Onions: 26
* Lettuce: 125 (leaves)
* Onions: 6
* Beets: 7
* Squash: 23
* Banana Pepper: 11
* Jalapeno Pepper: 17
* Super Chilis: 106
* Pole Beans: 242
* Slicing Cucumber: 44
* Pickling Cucumber: 75
* Cherry Tomato: 67
* 4th July Tomato: 24
* Green Pepper: 5
* Carrots: 13
* Rutgers Tomato: 8
* Eggplant: 15
* Roma Tomato: 6
* Dazzleberry Tomato: 4

Squirrel (Raccoon?) Wars 2011 Victims:
* Rutgers Tomato: 5

Along with the mildew, one of my cucumber vines have come down with a case of bacterial wilt. I noticed one leaf yesterday morning that was completely wilted. I knew this wasn’t a good sign and confirmed it when I cut the leaf off. The liquid that came out had almost a gel-like consistency. This is basically what bacterial wilt is…it produces a sticky substance in the plant tissue, preventing the transport of water, causing the wilt. Later in the day, the rest of the vine from that point up to the top (of the trellis) had wilted leaves, so I cut it just below the first sign of it..so far I haven’t seen any further progression in the vine. From what I’ve read, the disease usually affects the entire plant, but the from botany book I’m currently reading, water conduction only occurs in an upward direction, so the remainder of the vine may be safe (for now.) The wilting happen very quickly yesterday and not seeing any signs of it today is a good thing.

My pickling cucumbers are also seeing signs of the powdery mildew, so I’ve cut some of the leaves off on the shady side to get some better air circulation and also sprayed.

I’m also seeing approximately 3-5 bean leaf beetles and striped cucumber beetles on a daily basis. I haven’t seen as many lately, but I’m still seeing “swiss cheese” leaves on my bean plants, so they’re still around. I believe the bacterial wilt came from one of these beetles.

It’s been a bit of a frustrating week, but the rest of the garden is still looking good. Tomatoes are starting to turn red on all the plants, so I’m starting to pick these on a daily basis. I think the beans are in a holding pattern from the really hot weather we had last week. I haven’t seen too many ready to pick in the past week. I pickled some cucumbers last weekend, so I’m looking forward to trying those around the end of August. And I’ll be making a batch of Bread & Butter pickle slices this weekend.

On the lighter side of things, I thought I’d share a photo of something I found growing in the garden the other day…

Mutant Pickling Cucumber

This cucumber has been growing for some time on the ground under a leaf. I didn’t see it until it morphed into some kind of mutant that “absorbed” a neighboring cucumber. To get an idea of the size, the cucumber it absorbed is about 3.5″ long. I’ve never seen anything like it! lol

Harvest Updates
* Radishes: 29
* Green Onions: 26
* Lettuce: 125 (leaves)
* Onions: 1
* Beets: 7
* Squash: 19
* Banana Pepper: 8
* Jalapeno Pepper: 9
* Super Chilis: 59
* Pole Beans: 231
* Slicing Cucumber: 37
* Pickling Cucumber: 56
* Cherry Tomato: 22
* 4th July Tomato: 15
* Green Pepper: 1
* Carrots: 5
* Rutgers Tomato: 7
* Eggplant: 10
* Roma Tomato: 4

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I’m finally seeing eggplants (around ten). Since they are the fingerling variety, they should be ready to pick soon. You can’t really see them in the photo below, but they are there.

Eggplant...finally!

I think next year I’m only going to grow one 8-ball squash plant. I currently have three that are constantly producing. I seem to be picking one or two squash every day. I have seven in the fridge right now. Take a look at the size of the plants…easily 3-4′ high and across. It’s hard to believe I planted this by seed a little over two months ago (around 70 days). I’ve harvested 17 squash so far this season.

8-Ball Squash...a big plant!

I am starting to see powdery mildew on the squash plants, but the spray I’ve been using seems to be keeping it at bay. I’m happy to see this, particularly with the very humid weather we’ve been having the past couple weeks. I’m using the same spray on the cucumbers, but I really haven’t seen too much mildew to begin with. A couple leaves here and there have been somewhat spotted, but not too bad. I just cut the leaves off and give the area a general spray.

The leeks are moving along, but I’m not too sure they will be ready to pick by the end of the season. MAYBE one or two of them, but they definitely won’t be the 1″ diameter I’m looking for. I may end up trying to cover them with a coating of mulch and see if they can grow through the winter. I don’t think the chances are very good with Michigan winters, but I can only try.

Leeks...unfortunately, not very big at this point

Both the slicing cucumbers and pole beans have reached the tops of the trellises (a couple weeks now) and continue to grow nicely. I’ve caught a number of striped cucumber beetles on the cucumbers and picked them off as I see them. Some new visitors this season include a few Japanese beetles on the beans along with bean leaf beetles. Both of these like to make Swiss cheese out of my bean leaves

The garden is crawling with ladybugs…they’re everywhere! Young and old, I see them on my cucumbers, carrots, dill, beans, tomatoes. I think they cleaned my dill of all aphids as I’m not seeing too many these days.

Strawberries are doing greatly. I haven’t really had any issues with these other than trimming back their growth. I’m still picking the blossoms as I see them to promote growth this season, but I’ve left a few to see what kind of strawberries I might get this first season. You can see in the photo below how much they’ve grown this season. The two bigger plants in the middle and to the left were two of the three I planted. All the other little shrubs you see are from the runners.

Strawberry plants multiplying

Believe it or don’t, the fall growing season is upon us. I’ve been meaning to plant some additional vegetables for the fall over the past couple weeks, but haven’t really had the time. I think I’ll aim for this week, or the first week in August to get some new seeds in the ground. I think I already mentioned in another post, I’m planning on more radishes, spinach, rutabaga, and beets (possibly more?).

That’s all for now…here are my latest harvest totals:

* Radishes: 29
* Green Onions: 26
* Lettuce: 125 (leaves)
* Onions: 1
* Beets: 7
* Squash: 17
* Banana Pepper: 7
* Jalapeno Pepper: 9
* Super Chilis: 59
* Pole Beans: 172
* Slicing Cucumber: 30
* Pickling Cucumber: 35
* Cherry Tomato: 9
* 4th July Tomato: 6
* Green Pepper: 1
* Carrots: 5