Enough Cucumbers, Eggplants and Beans for Now

I think 40 pounds of cucumbers is enough. I’ve marinated them, tossed them in salads, stuffed them with herbed goat cheese and pickled them, and I confess, I don’t know what else to do. I did see online that they’re good grilled, which I may try this weekend (with the ten that I still have in my crisper drawer). The plants are still loaded with flowers and baby cukes, but it’s time to be done. I said this last year, but this time I really mean it: Next year I’m only growing one cucumber plant. Even two is too much to keep up with.

Variety: Homemade Pickles. Two plants, direct seeded in the garden the first week of June, Final Yield: 39.99 lbs. (though it could have been much more)

I think I’ve had enough eggplant too. Ten pounds is more than we usually eat in a year, and I’ve harvested that in the last month. This year I planted three, next year I think one will suffice.

Variety: Black Beauty. Three plants, started indoors, under grow lights in mid-March, and transplanted into the garden the first week of June. Final Yield: 10.38 lbs. (though it could have been more).

While I’m not tired of the beans, the plants do seem to be slowing down. I don’t think I gave them enough room. They grew up the trellis, then down the trellis, then up the trellis again. They’re looking a little scraggly, so I’m going to take those out too, and give the sweet potatoes room to grow. Next year I’d like to plant twice as many beans, so I have plenty to freeze. This year I only had one 8 foot row, and a sparse one at that.

Variety: Seychelles. One 8′ row direct seeded in the garden the first week of June. Final Yield: 11.31 lbs. (though it could have been more).

Nightshades and Brassicas Don’t Mix (but I did it anyway)

It’s only for a few weeks.

Apparently they both feed heavily on the same nutrients and would stunt each other’s growth if interplanted.

I wasn’t planning on planting them together. I was planning on planting one after the other (cabbage and kohlrabi in the spring and tomatoes, peppers and eggplant in the summer), but the first wasn’t finished when it was time to plant the second. So I researched the advisability of planting the second amongst the first. The answer was a resounding no.

But waiting would put me weeks behind schedule, so I did it anyway.

After harvesting two cabbages that were (almost!) ready, there was room on the end of the bed for two tomato plants. The eggplants went in where the kohlrabi came out. Then I just tucked the peppers in wherever there was a break in cabbage leaf-cover. That left me with 3 tomato plants and a pepper or two. The peppers I tossed (in the compost pile). The tomatoes I planted in grow bags.

I know I have to amend the soil in Bed #1 pretty heavily. If I encircle the root ball of each individual plant with compost (like a fertility forcefield) maybe all the dire predictions on the internet won’t come true.