2026 Garden

[Steiny77]

Our garden is done. We harvested a big basket of the last of the tomatoes this week and made a bunch of homemade Marinara sauce. That smelled so good while cooking that I went ahead and made a big batch of homemade meatballs to go with them. Had spaghetti and meatballs for supper and enough leftover to freeze quite a few containers of sauce and meatballs.

Hard to be at that homemade sauce with fresh tomatoes !

 

[Pucky Freak]

Pucky Freak, what does it take to grow sweet potatoes? How long of a growing season do they need?

All those sweet potatoes were from a single plant, which spread ground vines in all directions, creating essentially a solid 4’ x 6’ mass of leaves overlaying wood chips. The vines root and suck up more water. They thrive on lots of it. Iowa had a very wet growing season this year contributing to the high yield - my regular potatoes next to them rotted. They’re a tropical plant and do not tolerate cold. I use raised beds to get spring soil temp up sooner in the spring (55 deg). I bought the gallon plant for $13 on May 15th, and harvested almost exactly 5 months later. Another year I was late getting the plants in and harvested after 4 months. That year was drier year and my yield was about 1/4 compared to 2026.

If you have a minimum of 4 months at 35 degrees air temp or higher you can get a yield with generous watering. Temps 35-40 they need a blanket overnight.

 

[Straight Arrow]

October beginning of winter nap.

 

[Keep on]

Had a light frost this morning, harder frost forecast for tonight. Pulled the last of the peppers and tomatoes. Planning a big batch of venison stuffed peppers for this week and a few blt's, it's a long wait till June when I'll get my next blt with garden tomato.

 

[Sask hunter]

Planted my fall garlic today. Bit later then I would like but should be fine

 

[JShane]

I'm wiping the slate clean and starting fresh before fall/winter planting time. Reset the frame of the raised bed, hopefully put some small gauge wire down to keep the moles out, reuse some of the soil, then top dress with a fresh load of compost.