Garden Update - Summer 2025

I love to garden. I don't always have the greatest success with it, but I do enjoy it. Here are the highlights (including both successes and failures) of our little garden.

Plum Tree 

After four years of wondering what the little thorny tree growing at the edge of the yard might be, we finally found out this year. It turns out it is some kind of plum, likely a cherry plum, but I am not sure. It finally produced fruit this year - tiny, yellow plums that have a sweet-tart flavor.

Peppers 

I planted peppers indoors this year from seed I saved from last year. Sadly, none of it germinated.

We ended up ordering our peppers from Azure Standard this year. Their supplier offers heirloom varieties at better prices than the non-heirloom plants we found at Lowes. This year we put in three jalapeno and two Anaheim plants. They did not grow very tall (we have issues getting anything to grow big here), but they are producing very well!

 

White Beans 

I saved seeds from our in-ground garden we had in town several years ago. I wasn't sure the seed was still viable, but I was willing to try it out. They came up beautifully and had a fabulous germination rate, even in the rather shady garden bed. Unfortunately, something kept eating them down to stubble. In spite of sprinkling crushed eggshells around the plants, whatever was eating them would not quit! We have a few beans growing, but most of the plants never had a chance. 

Our youngest daughter was having the same issue in her garden. After a bit of asking around, someone mentioned to her that they had the same issue. There were caterpillars coming up out of the soil at night and returning during the day. I think I will be mixing diatomaceous earth in the soil before planting next year.

Tomatoes 

Most of the tomato seed I planted inside this year came up, which is a huge win. Surprisingly, the tomatoes in one of the garden beds are doing quite well. Like everything else, they are not tall compared to years we have grown tomatoes in-ground, but they are producing. The tomatoes I planted in another bed have barely grown and will not likely produce anything this season.

I planted some of our starts in containers and have kept them in the greenhouse as a comparison with those in the garden bed. These grew taller, but are not very bushy. I likely should have only put one tomato plant in each pot, but since we usually loose several plants, I really didn't think they would all survive. Rather than pulling out a healthy plant, I left them in the pot as an experiment. They are producing, but not as well as the ones in the first garden bed outside. The ones in the greenhouse get droopy. I think they roots are too congested and get waterlogged in spite of the fact that there are rocks in the bottom of the pots for drainage.

Calendula 

After several years with little to no luck getting calendula to grow well even when I purchased plants, we have several very healthy plants that are producing well. We have been drying the flowers for teas and salves. I am so glad to not have to purchase calendula this year!

Dill 

I planted dill from seed we had saved. It had about a 33% germination rate. It is difficult to tell if this was due to the seed or the soil. We will definitely have dill heads for pickles, but not as many as I would like.

Zucchini 

Zucchini has been a challenge here for some reason. Perhaps we don't get enough sun. Nonetheless, I keep trying. In addition to watering, I have fertilized them several times and watered them with calcium water several times. We finally have two plants that are producing tiny zucchinis. I hope they get big enough to eat this year.

Sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes) 

I wasn't sure what to expect from these given that I planted them so late in the year (late June). The friend who gave them to me (we traded sunchokes for tarragon starts) told me they do well in poor soil, so I put them in the garden bed in which we have had the most trouble growing things. The sunchokes have come up and are looking healthy so far. I am hoping they will bloom this year. I hear they are really pretty. Once they proliferate, we will collect the rhizomes and taste test them.

Marigold 

I have planted these from seed multiple times over the years with little success. Some years they actually came up, but never bloomed. I am not sure why I have such trouble. I remember my mom grew these with ease in her garden. This year, we finally have a plant that bloomed! I am so excited.

Green Beans 

Unlike the white beans, the green beans came up and survived without being munched on. They did, however, seem to get a fungal blight, and like everything else, their growth was stunted. We do have green beans we will get to eat, so that is nice. 

Summary

We definitely have issues with our soil and likely with the amount of sun we get here in the wooded mountains. There is not a lot we can do about the sunshine. As for soil, we used soil we purchased for the garden beds. In spite of mixing in compost and fertilizer this year, several of our beds still turned out stunted plants. Friends have suggested that we get the soil tested. We may have to do that, but since each bed has a bit of a different mix (we have added beds each year and used whatever organic soil we were able to find that year), we will have to test each bed separately.