The Co-Presidents of the Steinbach And Area Garden Club say the warm, dry summer definitely left its mark on our vegetable gardens.

The Club is responsible for planting and maintaining the garden each year at Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach. Elsie Kathler explains they add very little moisture to the plot in summer, other than what comes naturally. She notes this summer's results are similar to what the early Mennonites would have experienced during dry years when they didn't have access to other means of irrigation.

"The produce isn't as abundant and is smaller," says Kathler. "And because (Mennonites) relied on this type of produce to sustain them over the wintertime, they would have had a decrease in the amount of produce."

Anne Peters says spring vegetables like peas, beans and lettuce fared well this year because they had access to moisture reserves. But the later season crops that didn't get a lot of precipitation saw a noticeable decline in size. For example, pumpkins, watermelons, tomatoes and carrots growing at the museum are ripe but are only about one-quarter the size of normal. It was also a tough summer for growing dill.

"We also found that the tomatoes are ripening much later," shares Kathler.

As a result, your garden might still have a lot of green tomatoes and yet the first night of frost continues to draw closer. According to Peters, pulling those tomatoes early and allowing them to ripen indoors will result in a decrease in flavour. She says, however, for canning purposes and preserving, they will be just fine.

While apple trees grow roots much deeper into the soil and can pull moisture from lower down, the ladies say strawberry plants and raspberry bushes also had a tough year, unless they were able to be watered.

When it comes to carrots, there are two schools of thought on when to pull them. Kathler says leaving them in the ground until the air temperature cools, will make them sweeter as they develop more sugars. She says, however, leaving them in the ground all winter is a risk. Kathler has tried this over the years, using hay or straw to cover them and in this way has seen positive results.

As we look ahead to the growing season of 2018, both Peters and Kathler stress the importance of crop rotation. One reason for this is that every plant pulls nutrients from the soil. A vegetable like corn is considered a heavy feeder and will deplete certain nutrients in that portion of your garden, and needs to be planted in a different location the next year. Also, certain diseases attack certain vegetables. Kathler says if you rotate a vegetable, the disease won't follow. Even if you have a small garden of 15 feet by 15 feet, crop rotation is strongly encouraged.

Kathler also suggests working in about three to four inches of compost into the soil prior to the next growing season. She says if it is manure you are adding, make sure it is well-rotted, or it will use up the garden's nitrogen while breaking down.