What was your favorite new thing you planted this year?

Paul Sofranko wrote:Rudbeckia and borage. I know, not impressive, but I have wanted for years to simply grow basic flowers from seed. Finally, my black-eyed-susan seeds took root and flowered here and there.

The borage was planted last year and it self sowed for this year. Interestingly, nowhere near where last years' was.

I had the same thing happen with my borage too! The seeds are so heavy I was surprised when, this year, I had them pop up on the other side of my yard around a corner of my house. Very curious to know how they got there.

May Lotito wrote:I tried two new slicing tomatoes this year, purple Cherokee and rainbow. Purple Cherokee didn't turn out as great as expected. The shoulder cracked easily, leading to fruit fly infestations and rotting. Also it is too watery inside. I like the heirloom rainbow better: firm, big and more meaty. But it is orange!  An orange tomato and egg stir fry just doesn't look as appetizing. I will keep it for sandwiches next year but I still need to find a red tomato variety.

lol!!! oh how i can relate! i made a pasta sauce from our over abudance of yellow cherry pear tomatoes. It was delicious, however, my eye to brains was screaming mac-n-cheese everytime I took a bite! It was not maccy nor cheesey hehehehe

The same goes for the Berkeley tie dye tomatoes we are growing. It makes some tasty salsa, but kinda looks like barf... didn't get enough of them to grow this year to make the same kind of salsa.

Jenny Wright wrote:

Paul Sofranko wrote:Rudbeckia and borage. I know, not impressive, but I have wanted for years to simply grow basic flowers from seed. Finally, my black-eyed-susan seeds took root and flowered here and there.

The borage was planted last year and it self sowed for this year. Interestingly, nowhere near where last years' was.

I had the same thing happen with my borage too! The seeds are so heavy I was surprised when, this year, I had them pop up on the other side of my yard around a corner of my house. Very curious to know how they got there.

Garden fairies

First successes in Vegas...it's so dang different from planting in the high desert. TBH, I went a little seed crazy this year , but I guess that's part of the learning process.  

Basils = Holy, purple and Genovese..WOW, what a treat these have been!  I'm brewing a tincture from my first harvest of Holy basil and can't count how many times I've made pesto this summer and fall...these babies absolutely LIVED for this summer's heat and are still going strong in the mellow temps we're enjoying right now.  I planted yarrow with them b/c it's said to increase the essential oils in herbs and was not disappointed.  Honorable mention to lemon basil that just refused to live...there's always next year.  

Cowpeas, got these from NativeSeeds and they grew gorgeous and could have been more productive if I had realized they needed wind protection...frownie face.  They were so wind-burnt and tattered, I pulled 'em up hoping to harvest the pods drying on the plant.  About 1/2 c seeds.

This one doesn't probably doesn't count, but I have a mutant zucchini that volunteered in my raised bed.  It's probably from the compost I'd layered in initially. I cross-pollinated it with sugar pie b/c I needed a male and that's all the sugar pie has been good for this season... So now, there's this acorn-squash shaped zucchini beast growing...look forward to sharing what it tastes like.  

Fall has been pretty productive so far with chard, radishes, several varieties of kale and lettuces.  Not sure about the onions I sowed, but again, there's always next season.  Happy harvests err'body.

Greek Roasting Peppers... omg so tasty.

Watermelon! And they were the best I’ve ever eaten!

sweet potatoes, usual dark red kidney beans.  Tomatoes did not do to well (my fault?, inconsistent watering?).  Plan to garden more.

I was very excited to have sourced some To-Le-Ak potatoes, which is one of the first potatoes to have been introduced to the Washington coast by Spanish explorers (the other, better known, one is Ozette). It was very hard to find but after years of searching finally got my hands on some.

C Lundquist wrote:I was very excited to have sourced some To-Le-Ak potatoes, which is one of the first potatoes to have been introduced to the Washington coast by Spanish explorers (the other, better known, one is Ozette). It was very hard to find but after years of searching finally got my hands on some.

That sounds interesting. What qualities do they have that make them different from standard varieties?
How did they grow and how did they taste?

Jenny Wright wrote:

C Lundquist wrote:I was very excited to have sourced some To-Le-Ak potatoes, which is one of the first potatoes to have been introduced to the Washington coast by Spanish explorers (the other, better known, one is Ozette). It was very hard to find but after years of searching finally got my hands on some.

That sounds interesting. What qualities do they have that make them different from standard varieties?
How did they grow and how did they taste?

Both Ozette and To-Le-Ak are fingerling potatoes, late varieties. Ozette is white, and your typical waxy fingerling. To-Le-Ak is deep purple all the way through and floury. Genetically they are distinct from European varieties. They were brought up the west coast of the Americas by the Spanish, directly from Peru to Washington, and selected by local tribes (Ozette by the Makah and To-Le-Ak by the Quileute).

C Lundquist wrote:

Jenny Wright wrote:

C Lundquist wrote:I was very excited to have sourced some To-Le-Ak potatoes, which is one of the first potatoes to have been introduced to the Washington coast by Spanish explorers (the other, better known, one is Ozette). It was very hard to find but after years of searching finally got my hands on some.

That sounds interesting. What qualities do they have that make them different from standard varieties?
How did they grow and how did they taste?

Both Ozette and To-Le-Ak are fingerling potatoes, late varieties. Ozette is white, and your typical waxy fingerling. To-Le-Ak is deep purple all the way through and floury. Genetically they are distinct from European varieties. They were brought up the west coast of the Americas by the Spanish, directly from Peru to Washington, and selected by local tribes (Ozette by the Makah and To-Le-Ak by the Quileute).

Oooh, cool! Where did you end up finding them?

Jenny Wright wrote:

C Lundquist wrote:

Jenny Wright wrote:

C Lundquist wrote:I was very excited to have sourced some To-Le-Ak potatoes, which is one of the first potatoes to have been introduced to the Washington coast by Spanish explorers (the other, better known, one is Ozette). It was very hard to find but after years of searching finally got my hands on some.

That sounds interesting. What qualities do they have that make them different from standard varieties?
How did they grow and how did they taste?

Both Ozette and To-Le-Ak are fingerling potatoes, late varieties. Ozette is white, and your typical waxy fingerling. To-Le-Ak is deep purple all the way through and floury. Genetically they are distinct from European varieties. They were brought up the west coast of the Americas by the Spanish, directly from Peru to Washington, and selected by local tribes (Ozette by the Makah and To-Le-Ak by the Quileute).

Oooh, cool! Where did you end up finding them?

Cultivariable, though he's not selling tubers for at least a year due to a blight infestation. https://www.cultivariable.com/

Probably my biggest experiment was with Painted Mountain corn. Yes, I live in Montana and Painted Mountain was developed here but still, every part of this state is not the same habitat by a long shot. I planted four raised beds and an in-ground bed. The first raised bed was around June 10 and the successive three a few days apart. The in ground bed was planted July 1. I wanted to see if the advertised short season variety really would ripen before frost. I planted the seeds at 9 inch (around 25 cm) apart and rows about three feet apart ( 1m).  In the raised beds I tried planting zucchini in the large space between the corn rows. Alas. this past summer saw temperatures daily in the mid 90s ( around 35 to 38 C) and unreal smoke making the Helena valley more like a snow globe with smoke as a substitute for the snow. Brutal growing conditions. To top it off, a doe mule deer took off(10cm). The zucchini got jack hammered and never really did much after that. So by late June-early July I’ve got stubs from my experiments. The doe moved on by midJuly and the corn took off like a rocket. Everything matured by late August to early Sept. Most every stalk had a cob and what colors! The in-ground bed was a bit more hit and miss in terms of mature cobs. The stalks were about 2 m tall but some didn’t produce. Still a successful experiment IMHO. We only had a bit less than 1 inch(25mm) of rain from June 1 to the end of Sept.  All the rain came over a four day span in mid Aug and I didn’t irrigate after that until harvest. I let the cobs dry on the stalk and picked them mid October. yes, I had to irrigate before then@but that is standard here in the dry west. Still. the corn plants were quite resilient despite the drought, heat and deer pressure. I  plan to use this year’s production to increase the number of plants and have enough to give our chickens a daily ration.

Paul Sofranko wrote:
Rudbeckia and borage. I know, not impressive, but I have wanted for years to simply grow basic flowers from seed. Finally, my black-eyed-susan seeds took root and flowered here and there.

The borage was planted last year and it self sowed for this year. Interestingly, nowhere near where last years' was.

Gee Paul,

I'm impressed. In fact, I'm really interested....You planted borage? Why? How did it grow? Sun or shade? What were you hoping for? How far away did it self seed? Are you glad you planted it? Inquiring minds want to know....MORE!

This has been a crazy year! The weather is changing! All my birds, or most of them have flown the coop! They're just gone! Many dozens of different species! It is kind of lonely in my garden now. I miss their voices and before I seldom paid them any attention unless they were eating my crops! (But for just a few days every December a bird migrates through that sounds just like R2-D2! Star Wars! No kidding! That's where they got that sound from!!)  I have lots of new bugs that I have never seen before. After 11 years I was just starting to get the hang of gardening and everything seems to be changing... rapidly!!!

All the new bugs really have me worried because they can be brutal to my vegies. So I have been researching all the plants that repel bugs and I am planning to fill my garden with them next summer.... just in case. It can't hurt.

And borage sounds like a real winner. It's a member of the comfrey family (good stuff) and can be used medicinally with care. It's drought tolerant and is supposed to repel lots of different bugs including cabbage worms. It's supposed to release potassium and calcium into the soil as it decomposes even when just used as a mulch. Supposedly. That's a big plus!  It will flower from spring to fall if you deadhead it. It attracts bees and pollinators. And the leaves are supposed to taste similar to cucumbers and the pretty blue flowers taste like honey. People like to freeze the flowers in ice cube trays and add them to their iced drinks all summer. Pretty ice cubes. I hope you read this message and tell us more. Happy gardening everyone.

Debbie

- Salad burnet: Only 1 of 3 seedlings survived the spring slug attack, but it’s now thriving. Very nice to have another tasty, hardy perennial leafy green, and it looks pretty too.

- Strawflowers: I had no idea they would be so productive! They have bloomed non stop from late spring until now (no hard freeze here yet), and of course drying them is a bonus.

- Sugar Rush Peach peppers: Very productive, pretty and made a great tasting fermented hot sauce.

Debbie Ann wrote: But for just a few days every December a bird migrates through that sounds just like R2-D2! Star Wars! ...

And borage sounds like a real winner. It's a member of the comfrey family (good stuff) and can be used medicinally with care. It's drought tolerant and is supposed to repel lots of different bugs including cabbage worms. It's supposed to release potassium and calcium into the soil as it decomposes even when just used as a mulch. Supposedly. That's a big plus!  It will flower from spring to fall if you deadhead it. It attracts bees and pollinators. And the leaves are supposed to taste similar to cucumbers and the pretty blue flowers taste like honey. People like to freeze the flowers in ice cube trays and add them to their iced drinks all summer. Pretty ice cubes. I hope you read this message and tell us more. Happy gardening everyone.

Debbie

I think your R2-D2 bird is probably a grackle. They are some funny sounding birds.

I really love the borage that grows in my garden. I planted it several years ago and since then I usually get a few random plants popping up here and there. Some things I've noticed- They are very sturdy and robust plants unless you transplant them. They really throw a fit if they are transplanted or moved. The leaves are fuzzy so not really palatable to me. The fuzziness of the leaves can be irritating when you brush against it. It makes me itchy but a friend of mine her skin gets welts.The kids like eating the flowers occasionally. But their gold medal goes to attracting pollinators and the fact that it blooms non stop from spring to fall- not quite the first flower of the season but definitely one of the very last.

I have a long list:

1. Rapini
Robust enough to survive slugs in early spring. Heat tolerant. Produce lots of seeds and reseed easily.

2. Flowering kale
I saw them used frequently in Japanese gardens before but didn't know the plants were edible. I just picked a few young leaves and they were so tender and yummy.

3. Swamp milkweed
This milkweed is supposed to be native but I never find any nearby. So I bought the seeds online, transplanted seedings in May and they are already flowering now in late July!

4.  Black beauty tomato
Very heat tolerant and robust. Beautiful plant with good flavor. The single plant is already 4ft wide and 5ft tall. It's going to be a monster by the end of the season.

Hi all, here we are again.
The purple tree kale grew and continue to live, and we like it a lot.  Okinawa, and longevity spinach didn't survive the winter, lucky I started cuttings and kept them in the house, so I replanted them.  Fall planting and afternoon shade did the trick and I finally got an artichoke to survive, and thrive.  The swiss Chard just kept growing until a gopher took it out one by one.  Sad face.  After years of failure I managed to get a common comfrey crown to grow and stay alive, I think close to a year now.  It big and beautiful.
It's been a strange year for me.  The garden hasn't been productive like last year.  I'm still trying new things.  I started Carolina reaper pepper requested by my son. It germinated and grew beautifully until I took it outside where it seems to not do anything.  I recently started okra for the first time, looking forward to that. I tried romanesco zucchini. It's produced very well, taste like zucchini.  I started comfrey from seed. 2 survived, and one is doing very well. I have butternut squash I'm growing for the first time. Seems to be doing well.  We still have a lot of summer weather left, so I'm hoping my tomatoes, peppers, melons and cucumber kick into gear.  
I hope you all are having better luck than me this year. Keep trying new things, and happy growing.

Edward Norton wrote:I had a packet of free seeds - Melothria Scabra or Mexican Cucumber - technically not a cucumber.

They’ve grown all over the banister on the stairs to our back door. It’s provided a great screen to block out some sun. The fruit are grape sized and delicious straight of the vine. I’ll pickle a bunch next week, Japanese style.  

I would never have known about them let alone plant them. A great discovery.

This was the new hit in my garden this year. Will grow onto everything, unstoppable plant and productive.

I tried dozens of new plants this year and they are all wonderful. I am especially happy to see the colorful coneflowers from Baker creek's paradiso mix. Some of them haven't flowered in the first year so I have more to look forward to next year!