Stars of the Garden In 2023 – Part 1

Once again it’s time for my annual review of what did well in the garden this year, and what didn’t. I’ll start with a recap on the weather, since those conditions certainly have a big influence on home and community gardens everywhere, as well as on farmers. I know they do here at Happy Acres for sure!  According to my records, in 2022 we got 46 inches of rain, which is about normal for our area. In 2023 so far we have had 45 inches, which again is about normal for us. The last few months have been very dry, but it has had little impact on the vegetable garden since most of the crops were already done and harvested.

later October harvest

Every year it seems some crops do better than others, and I don’t even try and predict how they will do in a given year. I’m growing many of the same varieties year after year, and planting them and tending them the same way, so the weather is likely the biggest difference from. The weather this year seemed to favor crops like tomatoes, and I hauled in 186 pounds of them in all. 2022 was an average year, and I harvested 95 pounds of them, so the 2023 harvest was almost double that of last year. Some standout varieties are worth mentioning here in this recap.

September tomato harvest

I grew several new tomatoes here this year. Zenzei is a 2023 AAS Winner that is an early-maturing and high-yielding Roma type paste tomato that grows on indeterminate vines. It did extremely well for me this year, and I look forward to growing it again in 2024.

Zenzei tomatoes

Andiamo is a Roma type tomato I grew for the first time, and it has a classic San Marzano shape with firm, meaty fruits. It was a bit later than Zenzei to start bearing, but once it did it made up for it with loads of tomatoes! I also plan on growing it again in 2024.

Andiamo tomatoes

The slicing types did well in general this year, and we were well supplied with favorite varieties like Garden Treasure, Benevento, Purple Zebra, and Damsel. I got a steady supply of cherry tomatoes too, and many wound up dehydrated or slow-roasted in addition to the ones we ate fresh. Juliet is always a great performer for me, and many of those wound up in sauces or dehydrated.

assorted cherry tomatoes

Juliet tomatoes

My wife and I enjoy doing side-by-side tastings of the tomatoes I grow, and we did many of those in 2023. We tasted our three favorite slicing types more than once, and it is safe to say we enjoyed every bite of the tastings! Purple Zebra may be smaller in size but it is big on flavor, and this 2022 AAS Winner is prolific as well as tasty. Benevento is a long-keeping variety from Artisan Seeds, while Garden Treasure is one developed by the University of Florida tomato breeding program that always does well for me here. These three, along with some of the Chef’s Choice series, are the ones to beat in our garden.

slicing tomatoes

tasting Purple Zebra, Garden Treasure and Benevento tomatoes

I grew Prairie Fire and Raspberry Drop for the first time this year, and we compared them to Purple Zebra one day for lunch. All three varieties are from the tomato breeding program at Cream of the Crop Tomato/A.P. Whaley. We loved the flavor of all three, and it was hard to pick a favorite based on taste alone. I plan to grow Raspberry drop in 2024, and I may try one called Plum Drop that is also from A.P. Whaley’s Cream of the Crop line.

Prairie Fire, Raspberry Drop and Purple Zebra tomatoes

Pink Delicious is one more ‘newcomer’ here that did quite well. This is another 2022 AAS Winner, and the one I am holding in my hand in the photo below weighed just over one pound. It has a sweet flavor, and is one of the best pink tomatoes I have tasted in a while. It will be back next year too.

Pink Delicious tomato

Not everything did as well as the tomatoes though, and the sweet peppers were a big disappointment. We got only a handful of the sweet varieties, though I harvested enough hot peppers to make plenty of hot sauce. Wildcat is a 2023 AAS Winner that did well for me in a container. This cayenne pepper had very mild heat, and the fruits were huge!

Wildcat Cayenne peppers

Aji Rico has become my favorite of the C. baccatum types I grow, and this 2017 AAS Winner always produces well for me. The fruits have great flavor with a mild heat, and they make a tasty hot sauce when fermented. They are also good for fresh eating as well.

Aji Rico peppers

It was a good year for sweet potatoes though, and I harvested 76 pounds of them back in October. This is a staple storage crop for us, and we will be eating on these for many months to come. They have already appeared in quite a few meals, and we should be well supplied in the months to come.

2023 sweet potatoes

I decided to break up the report this year since I had a lot of veggies I wanted to mention. So I’ll be back soon with Part 2 of the 2023 garden recap!