2025 gardening scorecard: self-replicating leafy greens

This year’s gardening season was easier than usual mainly because in some ways, 2024’s gardening season never ended: As spring rolled around, I was delighted to see that last fall’s arugula, spinach, parsley and even cilantro had somehow survived a winter with multiple snowfalls and sub-freezing days.

I don’t know why that happened this year but not in earlier years (see my recaps of 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011), but I appreciate that unearned benefit anyway.

Arugula: A+

My go-to leafy green remained undefeated for yet another year, providing sandwich fixings and delicious additions to a variety of other recipes–it’s great to throw into an omelette, a pan sauce, on top of pasta or even as a garnish for a pizza just out of the oven.

Herbs: A

I’m using to parsley doing well, but cilantro persisting through summer and fall was not what I expected; neither was cilantro briefly returning in the fall. Thyme thrived for a second year in a row, and I had more rosemary and sage from the pots on the back patio than I knew what to do with. Mint, however, suffered from my irregular watering.

Spinach: B+

This did immensely better in the spring than in the fall, even though I sowed a fresh set of seeds in the fall. I continue to endorse this as an entry-level kitchen-garden crop over lettuce because, like arugula, it’s useful for so much more than salads and sandwiches.

Peppers: B-

All credit here goes to my wife, who once again grew bell and jalapeño peppers in a planter in the driveway for some of our most cost-effective gardening. Those plants, however, were not as productive as in past years, even discounting the peppers that some of our local squirrels snacked on.

Lettuce: C

This was one of 2025’s gardening disappointments; like last year, I didn’t get much out of the plants that grew from the seeds I planted in the spring. That still represents a decent ROI when you look at what good lettuce costs at a farmer’s market, but I can’t help thinking of how much better this crop fared in earlier years.

Tomatoes: D-

Yet another year, yet another year of disappointment in my attempt to grow one of my native state’s signature crops. This is starting to look like an annual slow-motion, step-on-the-rake exercise in which most of the tomatoes I grow only start to ripen once we run into a period of drought or or travel prevents me from harvesting and enjoying the results. It’s frustrating, but of course I will try again next year.

#arugula #basil #bellPepper #cilantro #greens #homegrown #kitchenGarden #lettuce #locavore #Mint #parsley #rocketLettuce #spinach #thyme #tomato #tomatoes

2024 gardening scorecard: abundant arugula

After twenty years of practice at growing vegetables around our house, the results of the 2024 gardening season suggest that the experience really has taught me something about cultivating a particular leafy green. Tomatoes, alas, remain an opportunity for continued learning.

(For your reference: my 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 gardening grades.)

Arugula: A+

After a few years of this delicious, versatile green being a spring-only benefit, the seeds I sowed in September exceeded all expectations–even after multiple frosts that felled lesser plants. Better yet, I saw some arugula growing in the lawn next to this raised bed; if that self-sowing trend continues, in a few years I may be able to graze on my own lawn like a sheep.

Herbs: A

Basil was another pleasant surprise: I could have made pesto sauce almost every week. Parsley did great too, allowing me to make parsley-walnut pesto for the first time in a while, and I also had my first good season in years of growing thyme (in a raised bed that I inexpertly rebuilt after the old one rotted apart). Rosemary and mint did well for a stretch, but I didn’t take enough advantage of them before a dry spell took out both.

Peppers: A-

My wife’s decision a few years ago to augment the two raised beds I’d built with a wheeled planter in the driveway paid off again with a great crop of bell and jalapeño peppers that represented some of our most cost-effective gardening efforts.

Spinach: B-

This played a small second fiddle to arugula, with modest spring and fall crops that I could throw into pan sauces or use as a fancier-than-usual quesadilla filling–but not enough to make a salad out of.

Tomatoes: C-

Sigh. My luck was better with plum tomatoes than with slicing tomatoes, but once again I had an unfortunate lack of overlap between fruit starting to ripen, sufficient rain to propel that process, and my being around to eat the results.

Lettuce: D

I got a few sandwich fixings’ worth out the seed packet I planted… which is a not-awful rate of return considering what lettuce costs at a supermarket and how badly it can age in the fridge.

Beans: D-

I chalk this subpar outcome up to inattentive gardening. But it’s not like I didn’t have enough other plants to tend to over those summer months.

#arugula #basil #beans #bellPepper #greens #homegrown #jalapeno #kitchenGarden #lettuce #locavore #parsley #peppers #rocketLettuce #spinach #thyme #tomato #tomatoes