Garden update for backyard: 2023 growing season progress
Switching gears to the gardening season that's wrapping up on the southwest coast of BC, here's a rundown of my garden adventure this year!
From the garden to the kitchen, the highlight of the season has to be my new best friend - the tomato mill! Until a couple of years ago, I'd never even heard of one. Its magic lies in turning cooked tomatoes into pulp sans seeds and skins, which works wonders for soups, pizzas, sauces, and curries. My personal favorite creation so far? A scrumptious chickpea curry made with homemade crushed tomatoes (get inspired by a similar recipe here).
What Worked, What Didn't
On the positive side, pickling cucumbers and raspberries flourished this year. I've got some tomato sauce stocked in the freezer, and there are still a few tomatoes waiting to ripen. As for raspberries, they froze in abundance, perfect for brightening up oatmeal and yogurt during the cold winter months.
On the flip side, pumpkins were once again disappointing, yielding only a couple of tiny green ones - the exact same result as last year. I'm stumped as to what I'm doing wrong, so I may have to dive into some research.
Snap and shelling peas presented their own challenges. The bunnies, adorable as they are, loved munching on the pea shoots until I gave up and guarded the plants with upside-down dish drying racks. While it eventually worked, the peas were late to mature and seemed to dislike the heat.
Attempting the Three Sisters planting method with corn, beans, and pumpkins wasn't a total success either. The pole beans ended up strangling and toppling the corn as summer wore on. Maybe I paired the wrong varieties together?
The Magic of the Codling Moth
This year, I became a moth-whisperer of sorts, thanks to learning all about the codling moth lifecycle and its impact on my apples. The process involves a moth laying eggs on the apples, the eggs hatching into larvae that burrow into the fruit. I wrongly assumed that these pests would only attack apples once a season, but I discovered that there can be up to three lifecycles per season!
Our best year was likely due to the use of pheromone traps, which lure moths with a chemical into sticky pads and prevent them from laying eggs. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pheromone traps this year, so I tried several other methods to minimize the damage. Bagging the fruit with white organza bags proved to be the most effective - we went from one worm-free apple last year to more than 10 this season (about 20% of the apples that made it to maturity)! Not sure why white bags work better, but they definitely do. Next year, I'll bag the fruit much earlier and see if I can find those elusive pheromone traps.
The Future Awaits
To keep my soil healthy, I plan to learn more about sustainable practices throughout the winter and next year. In addition, I'll focus on keeping kale, cabbage, and broccoli pest-free, as these plants seem to be infested in my garden.
For some autumn planting fun, I've got jumbo poppies, conefLOWERS, and lupINES on the list to be sowed this fall for a blooming delight next summer.
So, how'd your garden pan out this year? Share any successes or tips with us!
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Sources:
[1] "13 Helpful Tips for Using a Tomato Mill." KitchenAid. [Online]. [Accessed November 13, 2022]. Available: https://www.kitchenaid.com/us/blog/tools-appliances/13-helpful-tips-for-using-a-tomato-mill
[2] "What is the Best Way to Dice Tomatoes?" Spend with Pennies. [Online]. [Accessed November 13, 2022]. Available: https://www.spendwithpennies.com/what-is-the-best-way-to-dice-tomatoes/
[3] "How to Prepare Tomatoes for Canning." Ball. [Online]. [Accessed November 13, 2022]. Available: https://www.freshpreserving.com/blog/how-to-prepare-tomatoes-for-canning/
[4] "The Ultimate Guide to Canning Tomatoes." Simply Canning. [Online]. [Accessed November 13, 2022]. Available: https://www.simplycanning.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-canning-tomatoes/
The home-and-garden lifestyle this year was an adventure, especially in my gardening endeavors. My garden flourished with sustainable-living staples like pickling cucumbers and raspberries, while I discovered new tricks with the tomato mill, perfecting my homemade crushed tomatoes for scrumptious dishes. On the flip side, pumpkins continued to disappoint, and snap and shelling peas faced challenges with pesky critters. As I look forward to next year, I plan to focus on learning more about sustainable gardening practices, improving my methods against garden pests, and planning autumn plantings.
