2024 Food It Yourself Garden Review

No fruits, no leaves, no flowers, no trees, NOVEMBER! This old English saying just about sums it up for New England, also. We have had a couple of frosts here in central Massachusetts. My parsley is still hanging on (just barely!), but every thing else in the Food It Yourself garden has gone into winter mode. It was a very good year for the garden, if I do say so myself. Here is our growing season in review.

Cherries and grapes did exceptionally well. Especially the grapes, since we do not tend them. They just do their thing and I pick them and make jelly. This is the first year I was able to make two batches of grape jelly- although I must admit I had to top of the second with a splash of store-bought juice. We got three batches of cherry jam. I also made a batch of triple berry jam, made with blackberries, strawberries and blueberries. The blackberries were picked from the wild plants that have made a home along our fence. The other berries were purchased. Not because we had a poor strawberry crop, but because I once again failed to save any of them in the freezer. Fresh, homegrown strawberries are just such an amazing food. I tell myself that next year I will stash some in the freezer for jam making, but I have a feeling I will not. I regret nothing.

Top tip: if you need to buy berries at the supermarket for jam making, buy from the freezer aisle. The fresh varieties in the produce section are bred to last on the shelf, not to taste good. The frozen stuff was picked and put into suspended animation at the peak of deliciousness. You are welcome.

You may remember the drama with my fruit salad tree. We had to strip some of the fruit in late spring to spare the branches, then squirrels ate every last apricot, nectarine, and peach. We did get a decent plum harvest, though. But wait- we had two surprise peaches that Mr. Food It Yourself and I were able to enjoy! I noticed one and said nothing for weeks as it ripened. Not that I am superstitious… The day I finally picked it, I noticed another. The were so delicious. I have declared war on the squirrels of the Wachusett Valley and will be using all available methods to exclude the from my fruit trees next season. I need more of these peaches.

Yes, we need to talk about tomatoes. This year’s crop was excellent. We canned some, we ate some. This was my first time successfully starting all my plants from seed, so I am especially proud of myself. I will need to add some calcium (in the form of bone meal) to the raised beds this autumn, as we had a little blossom-end rot. Our basil also grew very well. I was able to share some with my dad, who makes excellent pesto.

We grew leeks for the first time this year. If you are not familiar with them, they are a member of the onion family with a mild flavor. I started them inside and planted them in a shadier part of the yard, as the seed packet noted they would tolerate shade. They grew, but did not grow large. They may have been in an area that was too shady. They were delightful in leek and potato soup. I will probably try again next year, but put them in a sunnier space. They might go in the front yard.

We also grew butternut squash for the first time this year. Our final yield was a bit over 25 pounds. We have been eating a good deal butternut squash, and enjoying every bite. We will definitely grow this again.

We had good crops of summer squash, also. Both our zucchini and yellow squash produced well. Mr. Food It Yourself found an interesting method for growing the squash vertically. We are planning to try this next year. Yes, zucchini always produces more than you can use. However, you can always find someone who wants zucchini. By which I mean you can always leave zucchini in random mailboxes around your neighborhood.

Some crops did disappoint. We tried cantaloupe this year. We can’t grow them, evidently. I am not sad that I tried.

Our cucumbers were so promising at the start of the season. I was ready to make quarts of pickles. However, the plants never recovered from an early heatwave. We had a few cucumbers for salads, but no pickles to put up. Thankfully, our turnips did well enough that I was able to make pickled turnips. I used a lacto-fermented pickle method. The chopped turnips were fermented for about 6 weeks in a 30% salt solution seasoned with Chinese five spice powder and a little red pepper flake. Fun fact- they are especially tasty with roasted butternut squash.

Every year in the garden is different. That is what makes gardening such an exciting hobby for me. The weather is often the most tenacious pest. Insects, soil condition, and evil squirrels are also common foes. The struggle keeps us humble, though!

What worked in your garden this season? What did not? If you live where the growing season is just starting, what are you planting? Share in the comments!