2017 - Year in Review

This was an intense year.  High stress, too much to do (I bit off WAY More Than I Can Chew) and unprecedented pest pressures (by mid-June, I had already proclaimed it Year of the Pest).

Swarms of aphids - only one of the many pests that plagued the garden this year

The weather, of course, also plays a part in the gardens performance, either good or bad.  2017 was a mixed bag with the season getting off to a very slow start with an unusually cool spring.  The garden was at least 2 weeks behind - this complaint was echoed throughout the blogosphere for those of us in the north-east.  My early spring brassica bed, which was such a success in 2016, was a big ol’ flop this year.  The greens grew much too slowly and didn't have enough time to mature before the tomatoes had to go in.

Unfortunately, the weather was too cool and the early spring brassica bed
was nowhere near as successful as it had been in 2016 (pictured above)

The fall temps, however, were warm and even HOT in late September with some days in the 30’s (86F+).  There was a very light, barely there frost on Oct. 1st but then the warm weather returned and continued for a few more weeks with the first killing frost not arriving until the end of October.

A basket of tomatoes in late September...
and the harvests continued until the end of October!

I was also away 3 times over the summer which not only had an impact on the Area #1/west border expansion, but also on maintaining the veg beds and harvesting.  The good news is that a lot was still accomplished.  I was able to keep up with the maintenance needed on most of the old borders that had been cleaned up in 2016 and I still made good progress in the west border.

So how much did I harvest in 2017?  The numbers revealed, first in grams:

 

And now in pounds:

We did harvest shelling peas, but I completely forgot to weigh them (hence the highlighted box). There are a couple of bags buried in the freezer so once I dig those up, I’ll be adding them to the tally.

Veg harvests are down in 2017 over 2016, with decreases in every single category except for asparagus, collards, dried beans & favas, broccoli, garlic & scapes, snap peas, potatoes, rapini and shallots.  That’s it.  Out of over 40 different veg, only 11 saw an increase in yield.

Broccoli ('Arcadia')

One of the few winners this year

Of course, sometimes, the decreases are planned – for example, this year I reduced the number of tomato plants that I grew from 26 to 24.  Carrots were another example of a planned decrease.  I found that the fall harvested carrots grew too large if sown in the spring so this year, I sowed 1/3 of the bed in the spring for late summer/early fall harvest and the rest of the bed (for winter storage carrots) was sown in early summer.

Other decreases, however, were not part of the plan.  Some were due to pests decimating the plants and/or harvest (cucumbers, lettuce, onions, Swiss chard, lettuce, sweet potatoes, peppers, turnips, winter squash) while others were due to diseases (blight on tomatoes/powdery mildew on kale - a first!) or weather (spinach, rapini, radishes, Chinese greens).

This guy and his siblings wreaked havoc this season,
both with the veg and annuals

But you know what really surprised me?  It wasn’t the decrease in the harvest numbers but the fact that they weren’t lower.  Considering the challenges this year, I wasn't expecting to get anywhere near the 500 lb. mark.

And let us not forget that we also had two notable firsts in 2017 - the first apples and the first taste of asparagus, both of which were celebration worthy:

First ever apple harvest - so delicious!

This year, we had our first taste of asparagus but were careful
not to overdo it as the roots are still getting established.
Next year, however, it will be full steam ahead with the asparagus harvest

The bottom line – it wasn't a stellar year, but it certainly wasn't as bad as it could have been…the glass is half-full, right?

In the grand scheme of things, I’m much further ahead than I’ve ever been.  Annual harvests are transient – good harvest or bad, each year the beds are emptied and the scales go back to zero.  The following season brings with it a fresh start with renewed optimism.

Dahlias ('Nick Sr.') - another first in the garden

The bones of the garden, however, deliver long term benefits and this is one area where I made huge strides in the past couple of years.  Drip irrigation was installed in all of the beds, I’m making good headway when it comes to eliminating the weed/grass issues in the paths & on the hilltop and I’ve managed to keep up with edging & weeding the ornamental borders that were cleaned up last year.

The accomplishment I am most excited about, however, is the progress made on the west border.  My overall vision for the garden always included an ornamental border in this area but it was never a priority, either in terms of time or expense.  Then, earlier this year, the perfect justification to push this project forward presented itself, which I wrote about HERE.

The mulching is almost done and several shrubs & perennials were planted this fall,
together with a few 5' emerald cedars (two of which you can see on the far left of the photo)

As we all know, shrubs and trees take a while to settle in and really get growing so I was determined to get most of them into the ground before winter settled in.  Fall purchases included a couple of lilacs ('Miss Canada' & 'Isabella'), a Rose of Sharon ('Diana') and an Elderberry ('Black Lace').  I’m so looking forward to seeing them all come to life in the spring.

I also planted a few perennials that had been languishing in pots all summer, waiting for a spot in the ground.  Fingers crossed they make it through the winter and show their appreciation for their new home with lots of growth next year.

These Echinacea plants ('Cheyenne Spirit') were grown from seed
and transplanted to the west border in the fall.

Of course, this is only the start - my perennial list is a mile long with several years of accumulated "must-haves".  Even with the added space, I have a feeling it won't be too long before I'm complaining about not having a spot for this or that plant.

Planning for next season is underway and, as is the case every year, I’m super excited for what 2018 will bring. Well, super excited for the great harvests and beautiful blooms, not so much for the aphids and cucumber beetles 😉.  

In the meantime, my gardening batteries are recharging and I’m looking forward to a winter wonderland (hopefully the weather forecasters are right).  Christmas is fast approaching – only a few more days! - so I’ll take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and festive holiday season.