Get the most out of your garden

Junebugaboo said:
So glad I stumbled across this thread...will definitely be trying tomato cage tunnels for my peppers. Even though I'm in zone 9, it doesn't get hot enough for them until September.

One thing that really worked for me and that I've been continuing to do is a fall crop of fava beans on one tier of my terrace to rejuvenate the soil...grows pretty well over winter and really starts to blossom late February and March (the bees even come out for this!). You can harvest the beans really young or wait until the pods are monsters, but a lot of people I know that grow them don't even eat them (they are pretty time-consuming to process if you're drying the beans). They just grow them for a cover crop.

After they died back the first time I grew them, we cut their stalks to the ground, left the roots in, and eventually planted about 12-14 Roma tomatoes in that spot. And holy WOW, we've never had a tomato crop like that. Granted, we also had a lot of Brandywines, Beefsteak, and cherries. I really can't remember how many cans of sauce and salsa, frozen sauce, pizza sauce, bruschetta, etc. we had that year, but it was more than enough to last us until the next year! The fava beans worked wonders...
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I'll keep this in mind. Did you find that the favas were aphid magnets? I've only grown them once, never harvested them. Was totally blown away by the aphids. They were absolutely COVERED.
 
Lazy Gardener said:
I'll keep this in mind. Did you find that the favas were aphid magnets? I've only grown them once, never harvested them. Was totally blown away by the aphids. They were absolutely COVERED.
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I do remember a few aphids on the fava plants, but nothing crazy like your experience...I have sprayed with a castille/water mix. Fava grows pretty well where I am right now, and a lot of times I'll find healthy plants around the yard that have seeded themselves.
 
Favas are one of the richest nitrogen fixers there are. I grow them because they are one of the few reliable crops in my mountain climate. Did you know you can also eat the young shoots? It's worth it to plant them closer together so you can eat the thinnings. One thing though, some people- particularly of Mediterranean extraction, may be allergic to them (sucks to be them). Oh, also, I've found that the flowers can stain your hands (they are white with black markings, and the black comes off)
 
I need to try the young shoots the next time I grow them and yes! @Britesea , I've hear of this disorder--favism--I think that's why sometimes at the doctor's office you get asked on some forms if you have Greek/Italian heritage. My husband is 100% Greek but doesn't have any of the symptoms...
 
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