Revisiting Last Year’s Kitchen Garden

The only part of my garden that has ever been really “planned” is my Kitchen Garden. I planned the design of it and I meticulously plan what will be planted and when every year. I keep notes, a chart and a map in order to keep track of what I planted where and how well (or not well) it did. I use this information to plan for the next year. That is what I have been doing today – I have been going over last year’s information, looking through what seeds I have left over that I may be able to use again this year, and thinking about what I may need to buy. This year I plan on using a lot of leftover seed from last year and hope that it is still viable.

This was my list of plants for the Kitchen Garden in 2013. You can see the plant, variety, if it was a plant or seeds, where the plant or seed came from, when planted, the year the plant or seed was bought, what distance to thin seedlings to, and if the plant or seed was successful or not.

Click to enlarge.

Next is the map of my Kitchen Garden in both Spring and in Fall of 2013. I color code: Anything in black is a perennial that comes back each year, anything in red is a new plant, anything in blue are new seeds I planted.

Click to enlarge.

Some notes I had made for myself regarding the Kitchen Garden in the Spring of 2013:

Things that did well: garlic chives (plants I’ve had for a couple of years), basil (plants), parsley (curled variety as plants), radishes, hot pepper (Mariachi plant from Haines Garden Center), turnips (were very abundant), swiss chard (plant), cucumbers, cilantro, green beans, lima beans, spinach, arugula, romaine, bibb lettuce, gourmet leaf mix lettuce, kale (plant).

Things that did NOT do well: red gomphrena, breadseed poppies, summer savory, love in the mist (got a couple of flowers), tomatoes (were late), chervil, acorn squash, nasturtium, yellow squash (got disease), beets (only a few), fairy tale eggplant (tiny tiny), sweet pepper, toy choi (tried in spring and fall and bolted before ready to harvest both times). Tarragon and marjoram were small. 

Parsley, basil and summer savory: Had planted seeds, but didn’t do well, so bought plants and they did well after that.

Some notes I had made for myself regarding the Kitchen Garden in the Fall of 2013:

Things that did well in fall: sorrell (plants), orange cosmos (plants), basil (plants), hot pepper (Mariachi plant), garlic chives, lima beans, arugula, parsley (curled variety as plants).

Planted plants and seeds weekend before Labor Day: zucchini (plants), spinach (plants), cauliflower (plants), iceberg lettuce (plants), arugula, gourmet leaf mix, turnips, radishes. From this planting of seeds and plants, the only thing that really did well was the arugula, with a little spinach and gourmet leaf mix.


When I update my plant list and map for 2014, I will be sure to post them.