We had what can only be described as a strange growing season.
Early summer fires brought overcast skies along for the ride. Seems like none of my farmer friends had very good crops.
By comparison with last summer, I'd say the ground had given up. The tomatoes got blossom end rot...something I will head off this next season.
Many vines just sort of wilted away. My current belief is that I need to let the soil rest next year, so I'm going to be either growing all things in grow bags, OR I'm going to shell out for some earth boxes, OR I'm going to get crafty and create my own earth boxes.
This all being said, I got enough good veg. to dehydrate, freeze, or cook into sauces or can for the winter.
As to the grow bag experiment, here are my findings:
Most of the tomatoes did not produce as expected. The one exception to this is the tomato which STILL continue onward and upward at the side of the yard. This is the one plant which was planted in a ten gallon bag. Moral? Next year, larger bags.
That one plant still has about twenty pieces of fruit on it which I'm hoping will ripen up. It's been pretty cold here in Northern California, so I'm rather amazed that this one little twerp is hanging in there, when all his brothers and sisters have keeled over.
The other veggies planted in bags produced very little. This could be because I didn't fertilize enough, or because of location in the yard.
Oddly, the upside down guys produced fruit from vines of two years ago right up until I yanked their spindly selves from the hanging planters yesterday! I cut them back, and am hoping for year three of growth.
