Five Things That Went Right in the Garden in 2015

I admit, 2015 was an up-and-down year in the garden. Who would imagine pepper maggots would infest eggplant and tomatoes?! What creature—I suspect two-legged—would pluck eggplants from my bushes? And the alfalfa and hay mulch that was supposed “weed seed free”—I’ll be pulling weeds from that travesty for the next year, mark my words.

However, we’re going to end this year on a positive note. A bunch of things went absolutely right this year, and through them I can suggest a few things to either purchase or watch or do for next year.

Chard

It’s December 15 in New England and I am STILL harvesting chard. It may be 60F today, but we have gotten several below-freezing cold snaps. The chard keeps going. I bought it from Renee’s Seeds—can’t remember the varieties but it was a mix. And I swear every single seed I planted grew and thrived. I highly recommend Renee’s Seeds for their germination, for sure.

The Ames multi-purpose handheld garden tool from Home Depot (pictured)

It worked really well for me. It digs, cuts, slices and has a notch to cut deep-rooted weeds way below ground. The only thing I would change is the color of the handle. It’s brown! I leave it on the ground all the time because I can’t see it.

Cheap trellising

I had to prevent my squashes from taking over the garden, and cheap wooden-slat trellising sheets made the perfect fencing.

Nature’s Source fertilizer

That stuff REALLY made the garden successful this year. Being in a hose-end feeder, it was simple to hook up the hose once each week and fertilize as I watered. I realize I can’t be bothered to mix solutions. This works for me!

Persistence

Several years ago I grew celery and not very successfully, I might add. It did great until it didn’t, and when it started to get symptoms of a disease, I took it personally. Nothing could be salvaged once it came down with septoria. I waited a few years and tried again. This year’s celery crop was unbelievable (the variety is called Peppermint Stick and it’s from Burpee Home Gardens, by the way). Persistence—you can’t buy that in any store but it might be the most valuable thing you bring to the garden.