Trying New Garden Plants 2020
I continue to research, conducting unofficial plant trials, as I look for the best producing plants which also market and provide value to local and online customers.
Late last year, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds donated 10 seed packages of my choice as way to support both this website and homestead. Check them out using the link: https://www.rareseeds.com
I took this exciting opportunity to choose new plants to try here on CG Heartbeats Farm. I want to update the progress on a few of the different seeds I choose and other plant trials from other sources. Our growing season rolls into August and here in northern Indiana and zone 5 we are about halfway through a normal season.
An Overview
I had a few preconceived ideas about certain plants I tried out this year. But first, these plants trials are a part of my research to find the best types of products to raise here at CG Heartbeats Farm and meet the needs of local customers while working to create a sustainable income from 11.7 acres.
My biggest surprise has been how well the peanuts sprouted and grew. My biggest disappointment? The Quinoa did not even sprout.
I thought long and hard about the location of where I wanted to try these new seeds. Soil type and drainage plays a huge part in the success of any plant production. Currently all of the garden space sits high on the property with a sandy subsoil providing a well-drained soil. The fertility of the soil varies slightly, as the does the topsoil construction. Sandy loam to varying degrees of clay would describe it best.
Almost all of my garden space once provided a place for the chickens to live outdoors (see Chickens on the Homestead). Thus, chicken manure has been added naturally to the existing soil composition. In the new garden space this year, the soil is actually to over laden with manure.
One are of the 10 ft. by 20 ft. garden has not sprouted a single seed. I think by next year it will be ready to produce wonderfully. There manure deposited there was too much for the seeds to develop.
Mid-Season Update for Plant Trials
Sorghum
After deep thought, I decided to plant the Sorghum south of the Glass Gem Popcorn mounds with beans and squash. Going into August, I clearly see the Sorghum needed to be on the north end of the garden space.
It is towering over the glass Gem Popcorn. I planed them the same day. I did later reseed sorghum, popcorn, and beans in spots they did not sprout the first time.
Flax
I learned I need to to use Flax seeds abundantly. Not every seed sprouted or 50% fed the birds. In one area I accidently dropped quite a few seeds. As pictured below these group of seeds I dropped produced a nice grouping.
Next year I will plant seeds closer together in groupings. So, the seeds are plants are slightly closer to each other.
Quinoa
Quinoa as a part of CG Heartbeats Farm plant trials, taught me I needed to plant these earlier. They like cool soil. I planted them in warm soil. I will try Quinoa in 2021, but none of the quinoa sprouted in 2020
Tokyo Green Cucumbers
I planted all the seeds I had in a 10-foot row. At first, I had 4 to 5 growing. Three of the plants that sprouted were choked out by grass when I was gone for a week. You would not know it now looking at the tremendous growth of only 2 plants.
I am impressed with the number of cucumbers I have already from 2 plants. I have harvested almost 20 in the last two weeks since they started producing.
Peanuts
Oh, these Kentucky Red Peanuts are fun. I am learning as I go and hoping to pull peanuts out of the ground. To date, I am impressed with how well the plants sprouted and grew.
I have begun to see flowers, but now waiting to see them bury down into the soil to grow peanuts. Just today I found where a flower has buried itself in the ground. This is how peanuts grow and develop. Simply fun, I think!
Lincoln Peas
I do not think I choose the best location to plant the peas. Why? I am not certain the peas receive enough sun through out the day. The part of the row where the sun shines the longest is growing tallest and producing the most peas.
I reseeded around a month ago at the end of June. Thankfully, the second planting has sprouted better than the first. I am waiting for them to grow and produce peas. I intend to plant more plants next year.
Herbs
Dill
Four Dill plants are growing nicely in a pot.
I will transplant them to my future herb garden I am working on creating this summer.
Lemon Balm
To date even my second planting as not sprouted.
Sage
The Sage seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds have sprouted producing several plants.
I will be adding them to the herb garden this month. I might add, after I weed the herb garden. The weeds or grass as it actually is has the upper hand at the moment.
Additional New Plant Trials
Elephant garlic
Last fall I ordered and planted Elephant garlic. I expected a larger bulb, but went ahead and planted what I had received. The plants did not get as tall as I thought. You see, I expected 6 to 8 feet instead of 3 to 4 feet. The bulbs I harvested were not exceptionally large. In fact, they are smaller than other varieties I raise. The cloves themselves in some of the bulbs are larger.
I will plant the largest Elephant garlic cloves I have this fall and see what next year’s harvest looks like. If I am still getting small bulbs, I may find a new source and try again.
Egyptian Walking Onion
I am excited for this variety of onion here on CG Heartbeats Farm. Unfortunately, the moles decided to tunnel right where I had planted them. Either, the moles ate or disrupted them over the winter. There was only one spouting this spring.
To date no bulbs have appeared at the tops of the onion stems. I am waiting and checking weekly or signs. Egyptian Walking Onions, a fun, sustainable plant, produces a top bulb which falls to the ground and creates a new onion plant. All parts of the plant are edible.
In Conclusion
It is fun watching the development of new produce. I think, my favorite to watch is the Kentucky Red Peanut plants. The trial and error of finding out the best way to create sustainable income is an ongoing process for which I am thankful to be a living part.
I get excited thinking about what plant trials 2021 may bring. Time to go shopping! Look for posts this fall sharing the details of how each variety I tried for the first time grew and produced.
Leave a comment sharing any new plants you have tried this year and how they are growing and producing.
