Crop so far; 100 Zucchini from about 10 plants, about 4 smallish bell peppers per plant, and enough tomatoes for 2 families. The runner beans havent been great, presumably because of the heat, but recent, more cool weather has at least set some.
Overall, August appears to be the month for tomato harvests, with 2-3 pounds to harvest every 3 days or so. There is no doubt that the heirloom varieties were far superior in taste, a fact appreciated by some pest (my guess, a bird) thats been pecking holes in the black Krims. My experiment at growing tomatoes largely unsupported has assisted the birds in this, I think. Next year, I'll definitely include some support. Perhaps its worth building some permanent support system, as most veggies can use it - peas, beans, squash, tomatoes, etc.
The sweet corn was mostly a flop, either because of a poor variety choice (Kandy Korn Hybrid) or because of insufficient fertilizer and poor pollination. The cobs were generally small, and the male flowers came much earlier than the female tassels, giving lousy ear fill at the ends. Overall, neither the taste of freshly picked cobs, nor the yield (one fist-sized cob per plant) was worth the trouble. Fortunately, my primary goal of growing the corn as stakes for the beans succeeded, as did my secondary goals of shading my wall from summer heat and getting compost material. Next year, I think I'll try a different variety and see what happens.
Growing Swiss Chard here without pesticide turned out to be a major disaster; some leaf-mining grub has continued to destroy each leaf throughout the season. I was hoping that this was a one-wave attack, and that the plants would eventually get a decent set of unblemished leaves, but that wasnt to be the case. The family dont like the chard anyway, so even though the stalks were healthy and pretty, its not worth growing unless you want to go the pesticide route.
The herbs have been a great success, with the exception of some basil and dill grown on a patch of rather thin soil. Other basil grown in the main vegetable beds is doing fine, and the oregano, thyme, chives, lemon balm, peppermint, and flat-leaf parsley is all doing great. The sage is spectacular as a garden plant as well as a herb. The bees have been working the peppermint and especially the oregano with a will.
While I was generally disappointed with the carrots earlier in the year, they have in fact provided a decent crop with little attention. Some that went to seed gave a spectacular show and attracted and supported lots of hover-flies (good insects), and have yielded lots of seed, some of which I will test for growing in the fall.
My leek seed planted in late spring is looking kinda grassy, and I'll be replanting it out shortly for a winter crop. First, I'll have to bite the bullet and pull out the Chard.
Another great success was the shallots; given the price in the shops, its been remarkably easy to grow. Starting from shop-bought bulbs (grocery, not nursery), about half didnt grow at all. I suspect a growth inhibitor is applied. But those that did, each provided about 5 small-fist-sized bulbs - bigger than the originals, probably about a 10-fold increase over the originals. I'll be using these as starters next year, so they should all grow well. These were grown in an area that gets infrequently watered (once a month), and almost never fertilized. Next year, I'll try the garlic here too (which also grew well this year in the semi-shade bed).
So far, I'd estimate I spent about $50 on tomato plants, pepper plants, various seeds and a new spade, plus some incidentals. In return, I have had about $50 in Zucchini, $40 in tomatoes, $30 in salads, $20 in herbs, $20 in peas, carrots and beans, and $20 in corn, eggplant (didnt work well), radishes, rapini, and cress - with more on the way of most things. And the fall/winter crops arent even in yet.
