In an earlier entry this season, I wrote about the attack on my tender broccoli seedlings by cutworms. Flea beetles and Japanese beetles followed, but the plants that survived the cutworms were big enough to not be destroyed. However, most bolted because of the heat. What amazed me yesterday is that there is one very healthy plant and it's producing side shoots. The broccoli florets are a nice bluish-green that makes them so appetizing.


Some things I will and others I won't repeat next season. I will grown black beans, like I did last year. I will not plant them on the side of my raised beds (a slight incline). They grow quickly, need a little support. Those I planted on the side of a raised bed fell over and the main stem snapped near the ground. This photo shows the supports I have successfully used.




I will put lighter plants on the sides of raised beds. For instance, this year, I grew leeks. The book The Vegetable Gardener's Bible recommends growing them in a trench, so I did. Since leeks don't take up much space, I split the seedlings into 3 different plantings, each one slightly later and in a different place. I transplanted my lisianthus on the side of one planting. This worked well.

The benefit of this is run-off from the plant on the level area (leeks) goes to another desirable plant (lisianthus) instead of a weed. Since conditions were dry more than wet this summer and hand-watering is the only option in our community gardens, doubling the benefits of my watering efforts saves energy (my energy) and adds to efficiency of water use.

My garden had all of the lisianthus colors in the photo, plus dark blue that, like periwinkle, looks purple to me. My favorite is the peach with pink edges.