First Frost Sept.15

Carrots,Sugar beets,and Corn.

  Time to start prepping the garden for next year! We still have one row of fingerling type potatoes to dig as well as lots of carrots. Our experimental crop this year was sugar beets. They grew really well, now we just have to learn to process them. Dane is going to do a post about that. Our sweet corn did very good this year too. We were not able to use it all up even though we gave corn to every one we know who wanted it. Now the steer and horses are eating the stalks and the pigs get the cobs.Our biggest failure this year was squash and pumpkins. We got them in late, then had a torrential rain [ 5 inches/24 hours] which packed the soil . Then we had hot weather at blossom set and most plants didn't set fruit until the second flush of blossoms weeks later. We do have a few butternut squash that look like they are mature enough to keep. Most of rest will be pig feed.
    Our other big problem this year and last was vercicillium wilt .We got hit with it last year and lost most of our tomato crop. We removed all the plants when we cleaned the garden, and we moved to a different part of the garden but not far enough I guess. We have a fix for it next year. We are putting another garden on a sand hill about 300 yards away. Wider spacing, drier growing conditions, better air flow, as well as using resistant varieties, should prevent another bad tomato crop.We will have to irrigate there but it should be better for peppers too so it will be worth the extra work.We have ten big round bales of hay rotting for mulch which should help with soil moisture issues.