The weeds may have won a few battles in the garden last year, but I believe I won the war. I had so many tomatoes, zucchinis, and squashes that I did not know what to do with it all (other than schlepping it off on every person who came to my house in the months of July and August).
I used last year's yields to help me plan this years garden and make a few changes. My favorite thing about last year's garden was the beans. I had never grown beans or really had them fresh very many times, and I was blown away by how awesome they were. So, this year, I planted six different varieties of beans and about 12 plants of each variety. I know, I know, I am probably going to be drowning in a sea of beans by the end of the Summer, but it will be a delicious sea full of yellow, green, purple, and yellow and purple striped bean pods!!
As far as the tomatoes, I learned my lesson. Last year, I planted about 16 tomato plants that produced enough tomatoes to satisfy all of Italy for a year. This year, I only planted 12; it's not much less, but it is less. I just like canning them so much that I was unwilling to plant any fewer than a dozen.
I decided that last year's potatoes required more work than I was willing to do for too little yield, so no potatoes this year. I did, however, plant about twice as many broccoli plants that all did great! The four cabbages I planted have had me saying to myself, "What am I going to do with all this cabbage? Perhaps more egg rolls!!"
While I am definitely still battling weekly with the weeds (and losing about 50% of the time), overall, the garden looks like it is doing well, and it is only June! Here's to a Summer full of vegetable deliciousness!!
