As I have been continuing to clean up my garden from this year’s harvest, I am reflecting on what I would do differently next year to ensure a successful season.
Granted, success is defined by each person by what they want to achieve. I tried new vegetables this year, I tried new varieties of long-time favorites and allowed volunteer plants to grow where they sprouted. I feel I was successful on all accounts.
I grew okra for the first time this year. It produced favorable results, but I got mixed reviews on how to fix the vegetable. I got remarks such as, “It is gross and slimy!” to “Fried okra is the best!”
I should have done my research before I planted it. In the end, I didn’t harvest any and it ended up in the compost heap to decompose and feed next year’s veggies. So, I was successful in growing but not utilizing okra. I won’t grow it again.
I also grew Walla Walla onions from plants I bought. Because they take a lot of nitrogen to grow large, I amended the soil with compost as well as granular fertilizer. We had sufficient moisture that aided in their success. We used them quite quickly and I even tried making a “Blooming Onion” in my air fryer. Yummy!
I love growing squash, so I tried a new-to-me variety called Long de Nice, versatile squash that can be eaten young as a summer squash or when mature as a winter squash. They range from 10-20 pounds each and one hill produced 13 of them. I am waiting for them to be cured before I bake them.
They can be used for both sweet and savory dishes. I want to try making a “squash” pie from one, as well as bake them and serve with a bit of butter, salt and pepper. I may try making soup, too. Squash and pumpkin can be used interchangeably in most “sweet” dishes.
I also grew Sugar Pie Pumpkins. This is on my list to grow next year. They are smaller pumpkins, with smooth, not stringy flesh when baked. It made scrumptious pumpkin bars, which used almost a whole pumpkin.
Since my husband and I practice a
“No Till” method of gardening
(I will devote an article to this method next spring) we only disturb the soil where we sow our seeds and have 5-6 inches of mulch over the rest of the garden.
When “volunteer” sunflowers, borage, milkweed, cosmos or other flowers sprout around the garden, I let them grow if they aren’t in the way of other vegetables. These volunteers attract pollinators and this year for the first time gold finches visited our garden, feasting on the sunflower heads.
We had an abundance of bumblebees buzzing around doing what they do best —
pollinating our veggies.
We are already planning next year’s garden. We will plant fewer varieties of tomatoes as well as fewer plants. I don’t recommend planting 10 cherry tomatoes. One plant is plenty for our family of two, as well as giving to others. We will plant another crop of beans to have ready in late August. Every year is an adventure.
If you are new to gardening or will be in the spring of 2026, please reach out to the Beltrami County Extension Master Gardeners. We will come talk to groups. We are planning educational presentations at the public library in late winter and spring. Watch the newspapers and
our Facebook page
for information. We love to talk about gardening!
These local garden articles will reach you each week throughout the gardening season, but gardening information can be found year-round by clicking on “Yard and Garden” at the University of Minnesota Extension website,
www.extension.umn.edu,
or by visiting our Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/Beltramicountymastergardeners.
Local Master Gardeners will respond to questions via voicemail. Call
(218) 444-7916,
and leave your name, number and question.
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