Lauren's 2026 garden notes

Adaptation Projects
21

A squash volunteer in the chicken area, probably from a miraculously missed seed from the squash I threw them last fall and winter.

The first direct seeded tomatoes are up, and three of the old tomatoes are returning from the root. If these plants thrive, I may plant tomatoes in ground next year.

I found an easier way to take care of the perennial grasses, but then I’m past the easy part and the mat of roots is 6 inches thick. It’s becoming a process. I need to get that stuff cleared out before I can plant the corn and beans.

Amaranth and chia are up. Still no quinoa or sesame, so I need to do a germination test on those.

Less than half the beans came up, with both planting types. Half were planted deep with a spading fork, half shallow with a seeder. I think rabbits must have gotten a lot of them. Although the chickens were dust bathing in the area, it wasn’t enough to account for the amount that didn’t come up.

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22

A couple dozen of the winter planted melons came up. I’ve been watching them grow (struggle) all spring, and suddenly yesterday they were all dead.

Usually when things die it’s a process, not a whole row keeling over in a night. Not sure what happened. I need to dig them up and see if I can figure it out. Pretty certain it was not the chickens, although they’ve been kicking woodchips over the plants all spring. They weren’t cut off or smashed.

I’ll replant today.

I need to do the winter planting a little different next fall.

I started covering the watermelons at night, and that seems to be working. I also found a second volunteer tomato, this in one of the grow boxes.

The plants I thought were hibiscis turned out to be volunteer buckwheat, so no hibiscus this year. I don’t drink it, but I used it last year as Christmas gifts for friends who do.

The beans are acting just as they did in the dry garden surrounded by weeds. They’re stunted, the tallest only about six inches, and a couple are already blooming.

The tomato garden is doing great. A number of the vanished tomatoes have returned from the root and seeds planted by the others are starting to sprout. Onions are tall and green. Peppers are finally greening up and starting to grow.

Peanuts are struggling. The chickens (chicks, actually, most of the adults don’t try to get into the garden anymore) found them, and peanuts are apparently prime edibles for velociraptors. They can’t dig them up, but they can eat the leaves.

Parsnips are an utter failure. Only about 10% germination in the refrigerator, 0 germination outside, and no survival. Since these were an attempt to get seeds for someone else, I’m going to do some inside in cups and hope they’ll develop enough to be planted in the fall for seeds next spring.

On the other hand, I have so far found two volunteer squash in the chicken area, and two volunteer melons in the main garden. I may have another volunteer tomato, which would make 3, but not sure yet.

Part of my goal is to do 100% fall/winter planting, and let the seeds decide when to come up. So far squash, melons, and tomatoes have come up from winter planting. Pretty sure that corn and beans will take years of “encouragement.”

23

These are a few of the melons. All had good root development for this stage. The roots were in the ground. That was one of my concerns, that the woodchips might have been too deep.

There was still water in the soil, so dehydration shouldn’t be an issue. But the soil wasn’t waterlogged either. While there are signs of insect damage, it does not appear to be extensive enough to actually kill the plants. The roots are also dessicated on most.

Some disease that hit them all at the same moment? Possibly pesticide drift, but from where?

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24

The contrast between the top growth and the root growth, how you can visually see the difference where the soil line was, makes me think it was fungal.

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25

Peanuts are still tiny, but I saw the first blossom today.

I replanted the melons and now have a couple dozen in among the beans. The rabbits are getting most of the beans so I might not have seeds this year.

Tomatoes have blossoms. The in-ground seedlings are rapidly catching up with the transplants. Peppers are finally recovering. I planted (i.e., scattered and covered) cucumbers in two of the garden boxes. They’re emerging.

I cut the stems for a handful of wild onion seed heads and put them in water inside to finish ripening. I will hopefully get seeds from domestic onions this year, some of which may be a cross with the wild onion. I’m keeping those seeds separate.

The garlic in the garden is NOT happy. I hope the dead plants are just going dormant and will pop back in the fall. In any case, the “wild” population in the grass is beautiful and healthy so I have replacements if necessary.

Still working on the weeds, with the goal of a fall corn harvest. One corn seedling volunteered, which tells me that on some level winter planting of corn is possible.

Replanted amaranth and sesame. The commercial (grocery store) sesame seems to have a much higher germination rate that the other. Amaranth second seeding is also up, if sparsely.

Quinoa did not emerge at all this year.

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26

It is really interesting how much the rabbits are eating your beans. Beans have been one of my more successful crops and I have very heavy rabbit pressure, they just never mess with my beans.

It makes me wonder if there’s just a lot of weeds they prefer over the beans.

I have had some Grape Hyacinth clumps right next to where I grow my beans and notice they will eat the hyacinth leaves to the ground. I also have a lot of Black Medic, Medicago lupulina, which I believe they like to eat.

27

I have seen the rabbits eat the beans. The chickens don’t touch them except to taste a leaf and go looking for something else. Most of the damage is done overnight so I don’t know for sure. I assume rabbits because that’s what I’ve seen, but we have skunks, field mice, raccoons and possums as well. Rats too, probably, although I’ve never seen one.

28

I planted moschatas near the herbs to see if that might deter the squash bugs or vine borers. Strong and healthy so far. If this works, I’ll likely start some pepos later in the season.

I planted them beside catnip, onion, marshmallow, licorice, sage, oregano and lemon balm.

29

Wild onion seeds. The bloom time overlapped a set of domestic onions, although crosses are unlikely with this group. I did deliberately attempt crosses on the domestic onion flowers, since those will be planted.

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30

I found more melons in the winter planted section. So likely not cold tolerant, but they did come up!

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More watermelons as well. Whatever was eating them has stopped.

Still only 1 corn plant, but now that I know it’s a possibility I want to try a test this fall.

31

I just cut the onion blooms to dry the other day. It will be onion harvesting time soon! I also realized how very like asparagus seeds these onion seeds are, and since I have those also drying, I gotta be careful. That might be tragic to mix.

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32

Seedling (direct sown) peppers are up in one of the garden boxes. The chickens seem to be ignoring them.

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33

Ok, so a question. I just harvested the first of my onions, and I want to force seeding with those I selected for seed. Any idea how I would do that?

34

Here is what the Google ai summary gave me:

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But then, you could just plant them out in a place you can leave them through the winter. Might really be the easiest.

Is that what you were looking for?

35

Nope. I’m hoping for seeds that I can plant next spring. Onions overwinter here without a problem, but that would mean seeds that can be planted 2028.

To get seeds to plant spring of 2027 (next spring) I need to force them to bolt this year.

36

Alas, that I don’t know, beyond leaving them in the ground for another winter. I’ll have to see how much onion seed I get from the two onions that flowered for me. If I have enough, I’m happy to share. Also, I’ve got 2 leeks blooming! So watching them for when seeds are ready. Should get quite a few leek seeds, or so I hope.

Further thought :thought_balloon: just leave them? If they are second year onions, might they still bloom?

37

Tomatoes and peppers are blooming. Beans are finally large enough to fruit. Corn never did get planted.

I planted the moschatas under the various herbs to see if that will deter the squash bugs and vine borers. So far it mainly seems to deter the squash themselves. The best is next to the apple/sage combination

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Watermelons are sprawling. Mostly the fall planted group.

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Wild cucumbers. Picked young they taste like cucumbers. Picked mature they taste like really bad cheese wearing dirty socks.

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Sesame. For the most part the survivors were the commercial seed.

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Direct seeded cucumbers.

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Chia. I’m trying to decide how to force seeding. Since it’s day length sensitive, I have never gotten seeds.

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Amaranth. Only the purple variety sprouted.

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The largest of the melons. This one was a volunteer, so essentially fall planted.

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Onion harvest. I picked the largest of the early group for seed, if I can figure out how to force flowering.

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I am not harvesting garlic for use this year. Everything will be held for planting in the fall for a spring harvest.

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38

I planted 10 year old onion seeds for a fall harvest. 4 seedlings so far!

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Either the chia wasn’t a day length sensitive variety, or stress is enough to force flowering. Maybe 1 out of 10 is flowering.

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I think I’ll go ahead and cover it for a few days, maybe get more to flower.

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39

Planted the rest of the oldest onion seeds on July 5th. (Putting this here as a planting note)

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40

Volunteers/winter planted:

2 tomatoes (volunteer)

5 watermelons (winter planted)

6 (?) melons (winter planted, first flush died)

1 chia (volunteer, currently blooming)

2 corn plants (volunteer)

1 amaranth (volunteer)

1 cucumber (volunteer)

This winter I will plant a larger section of corn to test. I need to manually cross the volunteer chia with the other, ditto for the amaranth when it starts to bloom.

I also want to try winter planting squash.

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