What Worked and What Didn't in the 2023 Garden?

It's a look back at what worked and what didn't in the '23 garden!
I share the successes & failures from my Ohio garden- what worked well and what I would have changed.

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00:00 Intro
00:30 What Worked- more hügelkultur
02:28 What Worked- more poop
03:42 What Worked- garden layout/accessibility
04:29 What Worked- more trellises
05:12 What Worked- less cleanup
07:31 What Worked- more winter sowing
08:29 What Worked- variety performance
08:47 What Didn't Work- not planning for weather
10:09 What Didn't Work- doing all of the things
12:16 What Didn't Happen- improving cold weather infrastructure
13:02 What Didn't Happen- mushroom production

#zone6gardening #ohiogardening

[sammyboyde]

EVERY GARDNER should watch this video. Honesty is an expensive gift, never expect it from a cheap person. Good Job Jenna.

[puppylover]

Thank you for this video. I'm sitting here during this horrible cold (-7 actual temp in Missouri) and find myself still occasionally beating myself up for not planting the fall garden. However 2023 came with so many demands on my time. My husband and I got married in September and we had the ceremony at our homestead so it felt like we were working like crazy for 18 months prior. I just didn't have the bandwidth to dedicate to a fall garden. Once the wedding was over and we finally caught our breath, the days got short and nothing was germinating. I've been working on my 2024 garden plan but I seem to be stuck in my 2023 garden. A little Grace goes a long way! We need to allow ourselves that grace!

[melissarecob]

You hit the nail on the head regarding the emotional side of gardening. Had a long discussion with my SIL and decided this year I am going to focus more on having a QUALITY abundant garden vs a QUANTITY abundant garden. I am not going to worry about what others are doing and I'm not going to attempt to compete. I may end up with a much smaller garden this year in the end, but as long as what comes out of it is high in quality, I will be a more accomplished gardener. Thank you Jenna for supporting us Ohio gardeners! Good luck with your 2024 garden!

[Anna-jlrx]

What a nice channel you have! I much appreciate the fact that you are not trying to sell things and that you are not preaching any garden ideology. You're just honestly sharing your experience. That's great!

[tobtnosike]

I'm gonna love Growfully with Jenna Forever in 2021!

[jaytoney]

Fall gardening is great, as it needs a lot less of my attention. It has been a goal of mine to garden year round, and this year I did it, although I grow a lot less, and have most of my raised beds and grow bags covered with a thick layer of leaves. As of today, I still have Komatsuna, hard-neck garlic, Elephant Garlic, Nagasaki Cabbage, Purple Top Turnips, Tokinashi Turnips, Mint, Spearmint, Greek Oregano, Seascape Strawberries, Lemon Thyme, and Comfrey growing in my garden. I have tomato and pepper seeds starts planted and am waiting for germination. This year, I am growing additional plants for a spring plant sale. ASs soon as they get going, I'll do seed starts for Fordhook Swiss Chard, Japanese Giant Red Mustard, Tokyo Bekana Mustard, Basil, Chives, Red Bearded Bunching Onions, Creole Onions, and chives. (Alabama zone 7B) January 2018, it got down to 9F, and Dec 2022, 7F in my area. It may be a micro climate, but it was recorded by the weather service. For whatever reason, the temperatures weren't figured into the climate zone changes, so I will continue to treat my area as climate zone 7B.

[crissyzoey]

I too struggled with taking on too many garden projects and expansions with the result that I had little time to enjoy the summer . It lessened my joy in gardening and I was feeling slightly depressed. This year I’m scaling back. Good to know I’m not alone in that feeling!

[Markephillips]

No need to build a bed for the wine caps! Just use straw mulch around some plants (I used it around my squash) and inoculate that! You’ll have an amazing symbiotic relationship between the mushrooms and the plants where the mushrooms are feeding the plants and the plants are providing shade for the mushrooms! That was easily my biggest success for 2023!

For 2024, I’m challenging myself to grow cauliflower and cabbage. I’ve been so nervous about growing them because of the potential for cabbage moths destroying them, but I’m gonna give them a try and see what happens! I’m also going to finally conquer growing summer squash (especially zucchini) by using grow bags and having a planting in the summer for a fall harvest. Third time’s a charm!

[hogue]

Gardening has always been a great excuse for me to enjoy the April sun and I usually get burnt out with pest pressure and mosquitos in August. I can handle heat. I can handle bugs. I can't handle both when tomatoes are $0.40 a pound at Kroger and I'm wondering why I did all this work. Let's be real. I just like playing in the dirt and giving this food away more than I like eating it myself. Thanks for sharing your feelings on all of this. I've often noticed that I'm shy to ask for help in the garden and I have to take it all on alone. My garden is smaller because of this.

[GROOMERS]

“Wax poetic over poop” 😂😂😂 I love watching your videos. I love gardening and you are just ahead of me on the curve, so you often talk about the very topics that I am interested in knowing more about. And we have identical climate. I’m so excited for the coming season. I am intercropping some this year and hope to tackle drip irrigation. I’ve had some drip, but it basically needs ripped out and redesigned… because you know we gardeners keep expanding! Thanks for the video, I’m gonna get back to watching it.

[joanneferro]

Thank you for being so honest and sharing your struggle. I was so overwhelmed this past fall and holiday season because I wasn’t getting everything done on my to do list. I was to the point of having panic attacks. I finally sat back and told myself, you get done what is humanly possible and the rest can wait. There will always be a to do list, but your mental and physical health is much more important than that list. We all need to give ourselves some grace and enjoy the moments in life that pass so quickly. 😊

[fedupwithem]

I love seeing kids learn how to work. That's the making of a good man! Great job!

[t-bone]

From the professional quality of your videos, the size and complexity of your garden and the other obligations you mentioned, you my friend are a high achiever. Now it's your challenge to dial expectations back some and still be satisfied. Best wishes in figuring that out, you're already on the way!

[marymccormick]

Hello from Miami County Ohio!
Enjoy your videos. Life balance is important- we all struggle. Thanks for sharing- helps people know they are not alone 🥰

[Javaman]

Anyone else posted a video that spoke of a garden tour, or how their garden did, I would ignore it. BUT I know that you always share SO MUCH good information in every video you share that I didn't hesitate to click on this. And of course, I was right.
I think it is important that you shared your mental struggle. It is probably the biggest thing that people, especially driven, go getter kinds of people, struggle with. And I got to agree with you that it is going to be a problem for you to not overwhelm yourself. I am sorry but I had to laugh on how you transitioned straight from telling us how you put too much on yourself right into all the BIGGER plans you have for this coming season!
Your garden is so beautiful and it is NOT small. And that doesn't count your parents garden. Perhaps you really should step back and think about what not to do this next gardening season.

[sharpland]

A very honest sentiment that so many of us can relate to. In spite of this wonky Ohio growing season, we practically forced our best season yet. The water bills were... large. We also nearly exhausted ourselves to a breaking point as well, but we too go through. Hang in there, Jenna! 2024 will be a year we're all thankful that we garden.

[sc-dwgt]

"the rest is more important than the work"---I think this video really speaks to the situation a lot of us find ourselves in: the amount of work to be done can be potentially unending! The idea of "sustainable" gardening must include whether we ourselves are creating a system that we can sustain, and be sustained by. These tenets are also found in the basics of permaculture, creating systems where functions are stacked and where systems can become more self-supporting over time (I don't know about you, but every year I seem to be older than the year before!). Love your channel, thank you for all you do.

[Sunnylane]

That’s why I didn’t have a winter garden this year. I did plant my garlic for next year, but aside from that, I planted nothing else. I was done & I had so much to can up & preserve that it kept me so busy this winter. Now I’m refreshed and ready for the 2024 season. It’s okay to take a break. It’s okay to switch your focus to other things for a bit. It helps me refresh & be more ready for 2024! I stocked my pantry & freezers & we’ve been eating good this winter. Greetings from a fellow Ohio gardener!! ❤

[Jacob-qrpl]

You are great! Not only do you provide great educational advice, but your attitude welcomes a community to gather 'round.

[WesternMONo-TillGardening]

I also delayed fall plantings too long due to the heat 😥and have decided I'm going to have to break down and get shade cloth next year, as the heat in Missouri is more brutal and lasts longer than it used to. Like you, I didn't clean up my garden much this year. I had worked really hard to attract beneficial insects and wanted to be sure they had plenty of debris around for the winter. Glad to hear you're working on balance. A few years ago I gave myself permission to rest more and not worry about being so productive all the time. I'm a much happier and healthier person now. We appreciate all your great content, but put yourself first.