There's at least one failure on a massive scale every year. Usually due to laziness but blamed on freak storms or other forces of nature.
In a deeply ritualistic move going back several years, I chose a large wood crate for harvesting my sweet potatoes as I ran out the door to the garden.
This is the size of crate I use every year for my sweet potato harvest. It's very strong and sturdy, the dirt falls right through and it doesn't tip over when I wheel it to my car on a 4 wheel cart.
This year I didn't need the cart to carry my sweet potato box. I didn't even need a box to carry my sweet potatoes. I could have held my shirt up and carried them peasant style.
Which would have been an excellent photo, especially if I was wearing a linen pinafore, had my hair done and tossed my head back in fake laughter.
But I didn't bring a gathering pinafore. I brought my box with the expectation of filling it with sweet potatoes.
Having filled only ⅙th of that box I was forced to fill it with anything else I could find to harvest. Errant tomatoes, squash, onions, zucchini, holy shit there's still a lot of stuff in the garden, beets, carrots, parsnips, flowers, peppers, no seriously like a lot, bay leaves, peas, and some dried luffas.
If I hadn't done the extra harvesting and gathering my neighbours might have noticed when I returned home pulling a largely empty crate from my car trunk.
Then I'd become the joke of the neighbourhood. There goes empty box Karen. Others will stick up for me of course,
"It's only almost empty" my proponents would say.
Would you like to save this stuff?
We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
But once one person calls you empty box Karen that's who you'll always be.
I was surprised to find 2 dried luffa. I had checked on the luffa plants a week earlier and they were still 95% green. So if you have luffas with a couple of brown spots on them, there's hope they'll dry completely in the next week if you don't get frost.
Yes, you can grow your own luffa sponges. Regular readers know that because I've been talking about it for 14 years.
Did I get some sweet potatoes? Sure. Did I get enough to last me throughout the winter? Sure. They're fun to grow but I really only use them for my most controversial recipe, guaranteed crispy sweet potato fries.
Watch the 17 minute harvest cut down to less than 2 minutes.
Yes. Even maniacal vegetable gardeners like me fail. Constantly actually. I hope you enjoyed this look at reality.
(empty box)
Millie
Grew sweets for the first time this year. Huge crop, one was almost the size of my head. A couple like short bologna chubs. I was shocked at the bounty from 10 slips. Not sure why such abundance in my case, nor paucity in yours. I know you take care of business in the garden.
Susan Renaud
Got you beat. I used sweet potato vines as decoration in planters since they have beautiful foliage and was very surprised to find they actually grew potatoes. I cooked them (tiny as they were) and enjoyed a tiny feast. I think I may try to actually grow them for the sake of growing them and get a real feast next summer. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Karen
Yes, they're edible! But ... try real ones next time. Also if you didn't eat them all, you can save your ornamental sweet potato, store it, and then sprout it like I sprout my (non-ornamental) sweet potatoes . It'll grow tons of new ornamental sweet potato plants. :) ~ karen!
Agnes
Zero from my sweet potatoes this year, onions came out not much bigger than they went in, and late blight galloped through my tomatoes before they even started turning colour. I blame the cool wet summer in Ontario this year. Thanks for making it OK for all of us!
MARY MORRIS
Oh, so sad.If it makes you feel better, I have six tomato plants and 11 tomatoes, two of which are finally turning red…
Do enjoy your stories!
Janie
I’d be thrilled with that sweet potato harvest! They look amazing! I’ve never tried growing them. I’ll give it a go next year!
Oh, my failure was peppers this year. Aphids love peppers. As soon as I saw the fricken things I pulled all the peppers to get them away from my other plants. I grow in a greenhouse because it’s cold where I live in Montana. Aphids can spread in a greenhouse like you wouldn’t believe.
Karen
I bet! I know what it's like when I see the first gnat in my grow light area. Sweet potatoes are fun! They like heat and have a long growing season. ~ karen!
Jane
This is the first year that I've successfully grown luffa. Originally, I was going to harvest them young to eat as veggie, but I turned around and they doubled in size overnight. Now I have 2 reasonably large fruits, but still green. Been wondering when to harvest them for seeds.
Haven't checked the sweet potatoes yet, so I don't know what I have.
As for fail this year, the grape vine has no fruit at all despite the vigorous growth. I mean, after all, with all that rain, even the old bosc pear produces, something that hadn't happened in years.
Karen
Hi Jane! Seeds from luffa aren't viable unless they're completely black and plump which is most likely to happen in a dried luffa. Your green luffa *may* have a few viable seeds if they're close to being dry. I lift my luffas and they feel light but still look green, that's a good sign you have an actual luffa inside. ~ karen!
Barb
My fail was due to those pesky wabbits. They decided they'd enjoy my green bean seedlings more than I'd enjoy the green beans. Never had that problem before so didn't prepare in advance. I did get a couple servings off a few survivors. Next year I'll be prepared!
Karen
I cover my bean seedlings when I plant them with cups or cloches until they're so big they're bursting through it. More than any other seedlings, green bean seedlings need protecting. Voles, mice, rabbits .. they love em. ~ karen!
Terry
My fail this year was (first time trying) English cucumbers. Usually get a ridiculous number of pickling cukes and slicers but I like English cucumbers so had hopes. I fertilized and babied and the plants grew but something “disappeared “ any sproutlings. I suspect rabbits but they usually shear off whole parts of plants. Thoughts?
Karen
Uch. It's gardening. It could be anything. But when in doubt it's usually the rabbits. ~ karen!
Emie
My mind is blown hearing you grow bay in your zone. I'm in a similar zone and have never heard of anyone even attempting to grow bay here. Is it grown as an annual? Do you overwinter the plant? Do the leaves get mature enough to use them? (I'm pretty sure the answer is yes, otherwise, why would you grow them?) How do you use the leaves when they're fresh? How do you preserve them for storage? TIA
Heather A.
I keep one as a small bush here in Ohio, 6a, and faithfully lug it outdoors in spring, back in when fall hits. It handles overwintering much more gracefully than my plumeria trees indoors, ha! I use the leaves fresh off the plant as needed and prune to keep it small enough to move around.
Karen
I grow it in a pot and overwinter it in the shed or basement. And yes the leaves are full sized and perfect! You can usually find a few small, 4" pot bay trees with the herbs in the spring at garden centres and nurseries in the spring. ~ karen!
Grammy
This year it was eggplant. Two fruits for the whole season. And bell peppers. It's always something. Thanks for 'fessing up.
Sabina
Zucchini/squash - epic fail this year. Four plants, one viable zucchini and three rather cardboard like patty pans. My peppers were nothing to have a parade about either.
Back to the drawing board for next season.
Karen
My peppers only started to take off at the end of the summer. Honestly, I planted them and they basically stayed the same for 3 months. ~ karen!
Randy P
Well...... I for one still think you are outstanding in your field.
Kay
In her field? Ha!
Sandra D
Oh, and leeks - one of them grew out of the package (which was a surprise to see) - will try them again, too.
billy sharpstick
Only one fail?! In Florida, the lush subtropical paradise jungle, we're lucky if we get one success after the hordes of giant lubbers, hornworms, possums, racoons, and homeless maga primates decimate our gardens. At least the gators are strictly carnivorous, but keep yer chihuahuas on a leash.
Karen
Many fails. Many, many, many fails. ~ karen!
Sandra D
My fail was trying brussel sprouts. We finally pulled them out (the largest sprouts weren't even the size of my thumb nail). They were tasty, but hah. Might try them again, but will treat them better (fertilize them more and water them more).
Terry
Sandra D,
Not sure of your zone but it’s still at least a month early for giving up on Brussels Sprouts, unless you had no sprouts. I’ve had the most moth eaten looking plants produce delectable sprouts if I waited long enough. Basically ignored them all season. Zone 6A (used to be 5B) Just a thought.
Karen
A lot of people struggle with Brussels sprouts. They can be persnickety. ~ karen!