Hey there, fellow veggie enthusiasts! Debby Ward here, your go-to gal for all things organic gardening.

Today, I’m sharing the juicy details from my 2023 vegetable trials.

You know, those trials where we plant a bunch of different veggies and see which ones shine and which ones…well, not so much.

So, grab your notebook, and let’s dive into what worked wonders and what fell short in my garden this year.

First up, let’s talk about the stars of the show. 🌟

Cherry Belle Radishes – as always, practically grew overnight and were crisp, spicy, and perfect for snacking. This classic never fails.

Now, on to the ones that didn’t quite make the cut.

Red Pearl grape tomato had its last chance this year. They were tiny, hard, and tasteless for the third year in a row. 

The Early Black Egg eggplant that did so well the last couple of years sadly, struggled despite my best efforts. The one plant that didn’t die never grew fruit.

California Wonder sweet pepper was a bit high-maintenance for my taste, demanding more TLC than I was willing to provide.

And the Detroit Dark Red beets, while adorable (think tiny), didn’t yield as much as I had hoped for. But that’s the beauty of trial and error in gardening – we learn and adapt!

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But wait, there’s more! Now that the summer garden is spent, you may be feeling overwhelmed with how to keep your seeds organized so you don’t loose track of them over the winter.

Fear not! I’ve got just the solution to make your gardening life easier.

Introducing the Seed Organization Mini Course – your ticket to saving time and money.

With this mini-course, you will quickly be well on your way to insuring you don’t waste money on seeds for your magical, and abundant garden sanctuary.

So, fellow vegetable gardeners, here’s to a year of fantastic harvests and endless inspiration.

Let’s make the most of our gardening adventures and explore new, exciting varieties. And remember, with the Seed Organization Mini Course, you’re in for a game-changer that’ll simplify your gardening journey.

Look for Part 2 of my 2023 veggie trials and … Happy gardening, my friends! 🌱🌿

Manifest more from your garden next year with cover crops. 

Honestly, growing cover crops over the winter is one of the easiest ways to improve your garden with almost no work. It protects your soil and keeps weeds down.

💪There are three main reasons cover crops boost your garden’s productivity.

Legume ‘Cover Crops for Nitrogen

When the plants are spent, be sure to cut them off at ground level and leave those amazing roots that hold nitrogen in the soil so it can be used by other plants.

This works especially well if you notice that leaf crops are not as robust or leaves of other young plants are not greening up.

Once you cut the legume crop, follow it with something that loves lots of nitrogen to grow, like leaf crops.

Cover crops for Compacted Soil

Break up compacted soil. Perhaps you have a bed that has compacted over time. It is not longer loose and loamy.  Perhaps you have a bed that has never had the loose soil you want. 

Leave the crops in for a while after spring warming so they grow more to loosen your soil. Some carrots overwinter, so they can still be harvested in spring. This way they give you two benefits. Not only does your soil get loosened up, you get sweet spring harvested carrots. 🥕

Add Nutrients to Your Compost

Add biomass to your beds or compost.

Cover crops like buckwheat or winter rye can add bulk to your soil once they dye back in hot weather. 

Several years ago, when I was building some new beds and added bee hives to boost pollination. I seeded some beds with winter rye and buckwheat for bio mass, some with field peas for nitrogen.

When I cut down the rye and field peas, I added it to my compost pile. That compost was added to the beds a few months later.

The bees loved it, we harvested a bit of buckwheat seed and late in the summer, the seed that had fallen into the bed sprouted and provided the bees some late season food.

Not sure if bees really love buckwheat flowers, look at the types on honey on your grocery shelves, you will likely find Buckwheat Honey. 🍯

Cover crops are a win all around! – Debby Ward, Member of GardenComm International

Now, let’s take this a step further and see how to use your garden to grow food to either eat over winter, or eat as soon as it gets a touch warmer is very early spring.

For many years, I didn’t grow anything outdoors in fall and winter. I have found this to be pretty normal.

Then I got excited about the possibility of all the fantastic crops I could grow. Through years of trying different stuff, seeing what would grow without cover here in zone 7a. I have been amazed by the bounty, I got hooked.

You enjoy bounty from your garden year round by growing food in fall and winter.

Some of the crops you put in for the fall, could over winter, even with no protection in many parts of the country. 

Examples are cabbage, kale and collards. Here are some cold tolerance temps:

• Cabbage and brussels sprouts tolerate 24 – 12 degrees F, (-4 to -11 C) depending upon variety.
• Russian kales and some lettuces can also take it to 15F (-9.5C).
• Many carrots and most leeks are fine down to 12F (-11C) 
• Broccoli 26 degrees F (-3C)

Winter Growing Tip 2: Add a simple, low-cost hoop house. 

You also get more robust chard and arugula. Growing crops in hoop houses simply give you more options.

Winter Growing Tip 3: Grow garlic. Garlic is pretty darn simple to grow. As long as the bed has loose well drained soil, is kept week free and mulched, you are good!

Plant your cloves in fall to harvest next summer. 

Remember: You enjoy bounty from your garden year round by growing food in fall and winter. – Debby

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