What did you plant as an experiment this year that you WON"T be planting again?

[greenwos]

Yep. Compost is the best.
We brought in top soil this year, then added in a bunch of peat moss. If it would have been available I would have added in manure too, but that can bring in weeds, unless it’s shrimp.

Another thing you can do is leave stuff in the garden over winter to compost. Not a lot, and nothing with seeds or disease. It can be a layer of leaves, kitchen compost, jack o latern, even a thin layer of straw. Nothing too thick and in the spring it will be almost completely composted. Just turn it in your soil as soon as you can, then plant as normal.

 

[kcan2]

Yep. Compost is the best.
We brought in top soil this year, then added in a bunch of peat moss. If it would have been available I would have added in manure too, but that can bring in weeds, unless it’s shrimp.

Another thing you can do is leave stuff in the garden over winter to compost. Not a lot, and nothing with seeds or disease. It can be a layer of leaves, kitchen compost, jack o latern, even a thin layer of straw. Nothing too thick and in the spring it will be almost completely composted. Just turn it in your soil as soon as you can, then plant as normal.

Thank you; I have heard so much about the benefits of composting that it seems like a no-brainer for healthier garden overall. I may spend some of the winter reading up on some good composting articles in addition to applying both this and @rosemarythyme 's helpful advice!

 

[3KillerBs]

I’m in North Texas. Everyone says bush green beans do great here. I had 2 45 foot rows of them and only got 3 green beans total! Not sure what went wrong plants flowered and everything and then they all died when they had tiny beans starting. I’d never waste my time with green beans here again!

What kind of beans did you plant?

When I moved down here to the sandhills region of North Carolina I planted my favorite Royalty Purple Pod and Dragon Langerie beans, which had grown like weeds in Massachusetts and the NC mountains, and found my plants sickly and unproductive. A call to the local Ag Extension put me wise to the fact that my soil was "The worst in the county," and needed a potassium supplement.

More research led me to Louisiana Purple Pod and Rattlesnake pole beans and State Half-Runner beans, which thrive in the humid heat and sandy soil here and I got a soil test to find out what fertilizer was needed for my conditions.

(Now I'm on new property with different geology so I'll be starting over again).

If you talk to your local Ag Extension they should be able to tell you what varieties do well in your area.

 

[3KillerBs]

I didn't plant any experimental varieties last year since my garden was restricted to 6, plastic tub wicking beds while I was in transition between the house we had sold and the new property with the manufactured home that was only delivered in October after months of delays.

The experiment was the wicking beds themselves.

My preliminary conclusions were:

Yes, the watering properties are excellent.

No, despite claims to the contrary, you cannot successfully grow tomatoes, peppers, or squash in them unless you intentionally choose varieties intended for container culture. The tomatoes and peppers got to a good size, started bearing, then faded out because the roots ran out of room.

I'll use them this year for small things like lettuce, spinach, radishes, maybe carrots, and the like.

 

[RoseHawke]

Summer squash. I've had it. They take up huge amounts of space and invariably get infested with squash vine borers. I've grown them under netting before, but then I have to hand pollinate and then, also invariably, they'll come down with powdery mildew. Gardening in Alabama is, shall we say, a challenge. I've got some tromboncino seeds that I meant to try last year that I'll give a go this year. Supposedly they're very resistant if not impervious to SVB.

 

[MissE]

Zone 3 northern MN here.

Corn- never really produces, even short season varieties.

Watermelon- never had luck with growing them outside, even short season varieties. Tried them in the hoop house last year. They were better, but the size was 1/3 what they should have been. I give up.

I will try cantaloupe in the hoop house this spring. I'm just a sucker.

Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and several types of summer and winter squash all did well in containers in the hoop house. Those are all back on the list.

 

[Melky]

Fennel. I get fronds no bulb.

 

[Sally PB]

Some really pretty amaranth that was supposed to be a wonderful summer salad "green." It was gorgeous (yellowish and purple), but tough, bitter, and had a "fuzzy" feel on the tongue.

German Pink tomatoes. A few of them ripened without rotting or cat-facing. Not worth the extra work for peeling for canning. Flavor was only so-so.