[metmom]

Having more limited garden space in the past, I learned to grow what was cost effective.

In CNY, Upstate has so much good agriculture, that it was simply not worth the garden space to grow onions and potatoes. They could be gotten cheap enough in season from almost any farm stand.

Same with zucchini and summer squash.

I never had good luck with peppers. The climate just isn’t right for them but I try every year anyways.

The things I find worth growing is garlic, a very low maintenance crop. Prep the bed in the fall, plant the cloves, mulch the bed with straw, and harvest in July/August. Almost nothing bothers it, unless some critter plows through the bed, at which point, once the stalks are broken, they just don’t do well.

Now that I have a larger garden, I did container potatoes, which worked out great. I planted onions and am still using those up and they are still crisp and juicy. Make sure you get good storage varieties.

I’ll be trying peas and beans again, but I think the slugs tend to get those.

I will also do butternut squash this year, and Brussel Sprouts.

My pumpkins last year came in great, I got a few 20 pounders. I just finished canning up the last of what I did not have space in the freezer for.

Turnips do well, along with beets.

For us, it’s cool weather crops, which generally store well. Now I just need to learn how to successfully store the root crops.

[who knows what evil?]

I never had good luck with peppers. The climate just isn’t right for them but I try every year anyways.

Never had a problem with peppers, even super-hots; in soviet-occupied Red Hampshire. However, I grow everything in Earth Boxes and root pouches...perhaps that is the difference.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Two things with peppers:

1. They like HOT & DRY. Plant them in the most sun possible. Unless you’re having an exceptionally rainy season (which you can’t help!) let them dry out well between watering.

2. Don’t be nice to them! Go easy on the fertilizer & especially the nitrogen content of your soil/fertilizer. Go easy on the compost on them, too. They need phosphorus more than anything for good blooming and fruiting. I put a scoop of eggshells and bone meal in their planting holes, then they are on their own for the rest of the growing season.

See if that helps with your pepper production. :)