Top Ten

09 Aug 2010 3 Comments

by sandra in The Garden

Here is a countdown from the worst to best in my garden this summer.

10. Zucchini-my biggest disappointment was the assault of nature on my beautiful, flourishing zucchini plants.  The five plants grew quickly, had huge leaves and tons of blooms, even picked a couple  and then….infestation!  The plants were attacked by squash bugs and squash vine borers, unpleasant in every aspect, from the eggs and larva to the adult pests.  The borers bore into the stem of the plant and grow to be a huge worm that just resides in the plant.  These bugs also carry a disease called Fusarium Wilt, which of course infected my plants as well.  They tried, these tough plants, but just couldn’t survive all the abuse, even with my daily picking off of the bugs and love and care.  I pulled them all out yesterday, with great resign and sadness, vowing never to bother with zucchini again.

9. Strawberries-I have one strawberry plant growing in a pot, and it is fabulous!  This is the second year it’s been with us (strawberries are perennials) and it really did well this year.  We got perhaps 20 strawberries from our one little plant.  The best part was that none of them were eaten by any critters!  Here is a picture of the last August strawberry! 

8. Mystery Plant-This cute vine appeared in one of my beds, and I had no recollection of planting it!  It seems to me that it is cantaloupe or watermelon vine, but I truly have no real idea what it is.  It is flourishing, has blossoms, and does not seem to be affected by the squash pests.  Hardy,  with the volunteer spirit, it easily deserves spot #8!

7.  Jalapeno Plants-These plants have behaved so irrationally this season, I’m just sticking them here at #7, not sure what their final story will be as fall approaches.  So far, they’ve disappointed David, who was hoping for an abundant crop for pickling and salsa.  We got an early small round-shaped crop, but suddenly the foliage turned super small and poofs of mini leaves were at all the stem ends.  Weird.  I gave them a fertilizer, and within a  couple of weeks they have buds all over them again.  I can only hope they have time to grow and ripen before it turns cold.  If they deliver, this could actually take the #1 spot.  For now, though, they remain a questionable #7.

6. Tomato Plants-Georgia is normally a fabulous place to grow tomatoes.  So, why didn’t mine take off this summer?  Sure, I’m getting lots of tomatoes, but why on earth have the plants all begun to turn brown?  The tips are full of green branches with blossoms, but the bottoms of the plants, up to about half, are really quite brown and dry.  They just aren’t flourishing, and David and I have already come up with a “plan” for next year dealing with soil prep and fertilizer, but that’s another story.  They really have had a HOT HOT HOT Georgia summer, and I think that’s the problem.  It’s just been too darn HOT.

5.  Poblano Peppers-Our first time planting these beauties, and they are sure to remain a favorite.  The plants are tall and green and strong, with probably 6-8 poblanos on each, each about 4 to 8 inches long.  It’s a drought tolerant, heat loving, pestilence resistant plant!  Can’t wait to try David’s recipe with grits when they’re all ready to snip off.

4.  Herbs-I have established creeping thyme and rosemary as perennials in the yard. I  celebrate how  beautifully they came back this spring!  I killed the mint, who knows how, since it’s usually one of the hardest things to get rid of!  The basil, all four plants, grew steadily and healthfully, despite a nation wide problem with the basil crops getting mold.  We’ve enjoyed pesto sauce, Caprese salad and just sticking big bouquets of basil in vases around the kitchen sink.  The smell alone could qualify “herbs” for the #4 position!

3. Sunflowers aren’t really grown as “food”, but mine had a place right in the center of the garden and they were such showstoppers that I had to include them.  In addition to that, they fell over near their end and supplied the squirrels with whole heads of seeds that they dragged back to their homes.  So, they really are food.  Sunflower, you grew upwards of 10 feet, launching high in the sky, and brightened the garden and fence for so many weeks!  You were a joy! 

2.Okra-Yes, okra.  This plant was made to grow in Georgia.  It grows whether or not you water it, in any kind of soil, I kid you not.  It is so hardy it will amaze you!  I planted two plants, and we’ve made fried okra twice and given some away, just from our harvest so far.  I just cut and freeze and when I have enough pieces, make the fried okra.  It’s a great excuse to fry, which we rarely do around here.  Not one bug, not one fungus or problem, just a strong, happy plant, with a gorgeous yellow flower, that yields faithfully and continuously.

And the winner is……..

1.  Bush Beans!  Perhaps I have let my taste buds guide me in this decision!  We’ve had so many wonderful dishes invented with these beans this summer (ratatouille, teriaki beans, parmesan beans, etc).  Cami put these in the ground one spring afternoon.  We planted two rows of about 8 bushes, about a foot apart, and watched with amazement as they grew overnight into little bushes with flowers that quickly turned into little beans.  We haven’t stopped picking since that moment.  They produce and grow so fast that you must get out and check them at least every other day.  They’ve worked hard, these bushes, and are still producing at this rate.

Well, that’s the Top Ten for our garden.  Thanks to our Great Creator, we saw these plants grow and live and produce! 

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