2023 recap: not the greatest year, but not bad either

I've always regarded a year's harvest a big fail when the total yield doesn't measure up to my expectations. But, as they say, it is what is. When the Black Magic grapevine died in late spring, I calculated half of 2023's yield (in weight) gone. Why did the grapevine die? My hunch is that heavy and constant rains in May turned the clay soil deep under the substrate into a dense, heavy mass that impeded drainage. The vines put out some leaves but all of it yellowed and dried up within a couple of weeks. The Sublima white grapes located directly across the Black Magic faired only slightly better. We barely got a kilo of grapes out of them. Both vines will be dug up and replaced next spring.

A lone Thessaloniki, and Sunpeach and Sungreen cherry toms from the Oishii Project

Then arrived summer and those hot hot days, interspersed with humid ones when a different weather pattern blew in. Fortunately I had saved up quite a bit of rainwater, yet the conditions were never stable enough for the tomato blossoms to set fruit on a regular basis. The cherry tomatoes did best; the slicing toms not so much. On the other end of the spectrum, tayberries and strawberries did great as usual. The Hortblue petite blueberries and pink lemonade blueberries produced more than last year, and the mojo berries put out twice the amount (about 2 heaping cups) compared to 2022.

Tayberries and mojoberries

The best garden success though was the myoga. This year it put out 13 buds, and while they were on the small side, I now know that the plant will be totally fine outside with no protection except for a layer of mulch. I pickled the buds, some sliced thin, some left whole, in a simple vinegar, water, sugar mix. They are delicious! Cross my fingers next year for an even bigger yield. There's a recipe for myoga tsukemono that I've got bookmarked to try.

Next spring the plan is to split the clump, plant half in a larger planter and the other half in the ground. I didn't give them any fertilizer except for a healthy dose of compost tea in the spring.

Another success story - the shishimai pepper plants started from seed. Five bushes were either grown in pots and grow bags. The yield was smaller than expected but I don't know if that's from having a late start or not being grown in the ground. Peppers were thin-skinned, around 3 inches in length, not hot at all, and reminded me a lot of padron peppers. Seared in a hot skillet with a bit of sea salt they're very tasty on their own. I also stirfried some with minced veal to mix in with cooked pasta.

To get a headstart next year, I pruned the plants, shook off most of the soil, and potted them up in fresh potting mix to overwinter in the house with minimal watering.

To end this post, you know you've come far as a gardener when you can color yourself happy even in the less than stellar years. In spring I was excited to create a rock garden to spruce up a dry section of the yard that's always in direct sun during summer. Put in drought-tolerant santolina chamaecyparissus (cotton lavender), Hidcote Blue lavender, California poppy (sown), and phlomis russeliana (turkish sage). Gave a good watering and they have performed phenomenally ever since.

Below is the rock garden at the end of March this year, before pulling out the erica plants. Ironically, I impulsively bought 2 more erica (Picasso Blu to the left) - a small consolation for 2023 not being the greatest, but not so bad either.