a couple lessons learned.
1. as i previously mentioned, zucchini should be in a bed by itself and i only need 1 plant. this years plant was uncontrollable and it was soon into the season we were just tired of zucchini. 2010 will only see 1 zucchini for us.
2. having 4 feet between the beds was a good idea. the main reason i went with 4 feet - was the space i saved with 3 feet wouldnt have landed another bed in that row - so i went w/ 4 feet. this turned out to be very helpful as plants of all varieties pretty much went off the reservation. in particular the tomatoes. by the end of the season, they had grown so large and beyond the cages, that i was unable to get down the rows that the tomatoes were growing in.
3. 41 tomatoes are way too many to plant. not only from an over planting perspective, but late in the season, i was unable to keep with tomato production and had a significant number of rotting tomatoes in the garden. 2010 will see only 24 tomato plants in the garden; we also have the varieties already selected and 'keith' will be getting them started in december.
4. never plant tomatoes in side by side beds. i had 5 beds, side by side, growing tomatoes - with the overplanting and the growth pattern, i was unable to navigate between tomato beds. henceforth, tomato beds will be interleaved with beds hosting other vegetables. next years bed assignment will be drastically different and will take into account crop rotation needs.
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