This year I had more time to garden but my results were less than stellar. That said, I experimented with a lot of new plants and methods so perhaps a mixed result is simply the result of my semi-scientific method.
Here's the scoop:
2011 Successes
-brandywine tomato: that sucker has grown into the tree and finally has lots of fruit on it
-san marzano and burpee longkeeper tomatoes: these have done gangbusters
-perennial border: hostas, coral bells, a hydrangea, perennial geranium, toad lily. looks good and my first hosta transplants have done well.
-grass: between tree roots, dogs and overall dryness makes it very hard to grow grass here but we've increased our grass footprint a lot this year. I think a lot of the success is due to straw as grass seed insulation.
-gladiolas
-got rid of horrible bamboo (mostly)
-staking and twine "florida weave" system for tomatoes
2011 "Failures" aka Learning Experiences:
-patty pan squash--vine got sick and had to pull, leaving half of raised bed unused (bummer!)
-backyard raised bed--too weedy and buggy an area, not enough sun. am converting to shade/sun perennial bed.
-growing heirloom tomatoes--too much work, not enough fruit
-tomatoes from seed--put my schedule back too far. only 3 plants made it through transfer stage. I still am awaiting ripe fruit from most of my
plants. This makes me nervous because we need a couple
of hot hot days for them to finish up.
