I began my first garden in central Oklahoma zone 7b this year. I thought it would be useful to keep a record of what I planted and what was successful. We planted 2 fig trees and 2 peach trees and these have done well. We planted grapes, blackberry, and strawberry. These have all done well. We had a few peaches and strawberries but no other fruits. We planted watermelon and cantaloupe but these didn’t make it due to lack of water. We planted squash, zucchini, cucumber and pumpkin. The cucumber wasn’t successful although the squash, zucchini, and pumpkin grew well with little attention. The squash got powdery mildew from my overhead watering. We planted asparagus and this is doing good. Rhubarb did not survive. Kale and Swiss Chard did well in the spring but were eaten up by bugs by late summer. Onions were overtaken by squash vines and wild pea vines. Okra and jalapenos did well with little water. Not much luck in potatoes and sweet potatoes. Corn was not successful. Green beans, green peas, lettuce mix, yellow beans, mizuna, dinosaur kale, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, and turnips didn’t start from seed. Radishes have holes in the leaves. My herbs were mostly successful including oregano, thyme, rosemary, dill, lavender, and basil. One lavender is dying of unknown causes although the others are ok. Of the flowers I planted, some are doing good including: anise hyssop, catmint, Veronica, roses, hydrangea, Russian sage, bee balm, roses, dahlia, nasturtium. Others I have seen through this year are cosmos, flax, forget me nots, poppies, sunflower, zinnias. Some flower and herb seeds I planted but didn’t see any results yet are: alyssum, borage, fennel, marigolds, California poppy, coneflower, blue passion flower. Baptisia Australis and blue eyes phlox are doing ok but no blooms yet. Hostas are eaten by slugs. Elephant ears did well and look cool. I am sure I planted other things I cannot remember as well. Hopefully some of the seeds may come up next spring. So far, I’m taking the chaos garden approach but will plan better next year. I have learned a lot this year and hope to be more successful in year 2. The main thing I learned is that you can’t control the weather and that I need to find better organic pest control. It is now October and I am planning to plant many bulbs at the end of the month. Will update on that later.
Lisa Ledbetter 