2022 Recap of Oglesby Gardens
Reflecting on Oglesby Gardens in 2022
You’ve heard me say it before: a key to success in the garden evaluation and reflect on the past season in order to properly plan for the next season. I do this every fall, focusing on successes, failures, and re-evaluating my goals to make sure they align with my health journey. And it's a great opportunity to look back and reminisce about everything we accomplished at Oglesby Gardens in 2022.
How to Reflect on Your Garden Season
I figured, the best way to explain is just to show you what I do. So below, you'll find my process for reflecting on the garden season and setting goals for the next season. Pick up whatever tips and techniques serve you, or use this as inspiration for finding your own reflection process.Oglesby Gardens Goals 2022
Production and aesthetics are always my top priorities in the garden. My goal is to grow as much of my own nutritionally-dense food as possible each season, while still creating a space that is pleasing to the eye and allows me to fully enjoy the beauty of nature.
Stay out of the grocery store until November. It’s mid-October now, and it looks like I’ll reach my goal this year! It’s important to me to honor the natural cycles of the earth and eat with the seasons, focusing on what I have available in my kitchen garden. Sure, I’ll pop into my local sustainable grocer or farmers market to pick up some of those staples I can’t grow (avocados, bananas, lemons, etc.) but for the most part, everything we eat is grown steps from our backdoor.
Tip: Take a moment to think about your past garden goals, and focus on 2-3 that will be top priorities for next year.
Oglesby Gardens Successes 2022
When thinking about what success means in the garden, I focus on how well I utilized my kitchen garden harvest. Honestly, my garden is bigger than Matt and I need; we're just cooking for two people most nights. But one of the biggest joys we get out of gardening is sharing our harvests with neighbors, friends, and family. And sure, sometimes the amount of tomatoes we have on hand can get a little out of control, but it’s worth it for the community we have created.
Does anyone remember my biggest loss last year? I lost all my basil to downy mildew (over 50 plants!) in June. Basil is one of my favorite herbs, so this year I researched new varieties that claimed resistance to downy mildew. The purple, cinnamon, and citrus basil varieties I planted lasted until about the end of August before I caught signs of downy mildew. But the biggest successes were the two varieties that are still hanging on in my garden right now: Prospera and Rutgers, both from Johnny Seeds. Prospera was my favorite in both taste and leaf size and I believe it slightly outperformed the Rutgers variety. So now I know for next year, when it comes to Italian green-type basil, Prospera will be the staple in my garden and my top recommendation for client gardens.
I started very late with pepper drops, a variety I learned about halfway through the garden season. But I went for it and planted them late anyway, and I got a few harvests! Even though there was only a small amount to experiment with, I know I will definitely plant them next year!
Did you know I have not been able to grow an onion crop since we moved to this location? It's been 6 years since I've had successful, sizable onions. And then suddenly this year, viola - onions! I’ve had the same issue with broccoli to the point where Matt said, “That’s it. I’m over it.” Well, you see, I don’t give up that easily. (I am a first-born, if that gives you any idea of my capacity for stubbornness…)
We canned: 30 quarts of bolognese sauce, 48 pints of San Marzano sauce, 30 quarts of plain tomato sauce, 1 pint of tomato powder. We froze: Basil pesto, berries, herbs. We dried: Herbs for cooking, herbal tea blends, eucalyptus (and we’re also making eucalyptus oil!)
While my garden might look picture perfect on Instagram, I have learning curves and challenges like everyone else. Ready to hear a few garden trials and tribulations I had this past season? Let’s dig in.
Oglesby Gardens Failures in 2022
Long story short, this past season was busier than I expected. I am so grateful to welcome so many new clients, but I’ll admit that I put my own garden on the back burner this year. I failed to practice what I preach, and I wasn't proactive about planning, harvesting, and using what I was growing. For example, this year I added a few new types of zucchini and squash and while I did write down the varieties, I promptly lost it. And then I forgot that they were summer squash varieties, not winter squash. Unfortunately it wasn’t until mid-September until the alarm bells went off in my brain and I realized I had been waiting for them to turn from green to beige when actually they had been ripe for weeks. I missed my harvest opportunity and they were definitely past their prime. Instead of stewing in frustration, I decided to laugh this one off and look to the future. There’s always next year…
My peppers started off with a disease, most likely fungal. Peppers are one of Matt’s favorite veggies, so I tried to save them with heavy pruning and Arbers Fungicide. I saved about half, but lost the rest.
This was my first time seeing potato bugs in my eggplants. Note to self: do not plant potatoes and eggplant anywhere near each other next year. Those buggers were destructive.
The weather. Wisconsin’s spring went from a rainy, cold monsoon to hot and humid in the span of about a week. It really took a toll on my plants and my garden’s growth was much further behind than it had been the previous year during the same dates. After talking to the UW-Extension office, they had heard many similar growing issues, stagnation, and increase in disease this year. Sometimes it helps to know you’re not alone when dealing with setbacks!
One belief I have kept with me since starting out as a complete beginner in the garden: hands-on learning is the best learning.
I learned how to garden through experimentation and observation. Looking back, some fundamentals would have been helpful… However, as a visual learner, it has served me well in my approach to my garden. Any bounty from the garden is a gift. Even when something goes haywire, it can be a gift in the form of a lesson.At least, that's my approach to growing. I don’t toss in the towel just because a variety didn’t do well for a year or two, or Mother Nature is throwing curveballs. Being a gardener requires resiliency and if there is one thing I want you to take from this, it's to BE that resilient gardener. My trick is to approach the garden with optimism, not expectations. (Yes, that is much easier said than done.) There are SO many variables unique to each garden (soil, temperature, location, etc.) that no YouTube tutorial can correctly diagnose what you need in your garden. Get out there, experiment, evaluate, recalibrate, and keep on growing!
Looking to recap your seasons and walk through any questions?
Book a coaching session with me! Together we can create the kitchen garden of your dreams.
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