Tag Archives: grow your own

May June be Fruitful

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The snow peas have been enjoying all of our rain showers.

It feels like this gardening season just started, but somehow, we’re already a week into June. I’ve been harvesting strawberries each day (this years crop has been very delicious so far), and yesterday, I collected the garlic scapes. I’m excited to pull the bulbs in a couple weeks here, but the scapes have so much flavor. I don’t know where these awesome things were hiding my whole life, but since I started growing my own garlic, I’m hooked. I’ve also started harvesting the first of this years herb crop: some thyme, bay leaves, basil, chives, and chamomile. Hopefully the next few months bring just as much delicious food from the garden!

Out in the raised beds, the seedlings I started seem to (mostly) be doing well. The peas are flowering and I had to add on to the trellis I built for them, as they grew taller than expected. The peppers are looking good. We’re going to have a bumper crop of potatoes. The cut flower garden is coming in strong. However, the tomatoes are looking… really sad. We’ve had a lot more rain than they really enjoy, and it’s been very warm, very fast, since I planted them out. I’m hoping they bounce back here and we are able to harvest enough for my portion of the family salsa crop.

Up on the deck, the jungle is faring much better. Out lemon tree is flowering again. I have my fingers crossed that the local pollinator population works its magic and we end up with some fruit. Our cantaloupe are also flowering, and the burst of cucumber beetles I saw in the yard has already been taken care of by the birds, leaving the cantaloupe alone. I started the green beans and black-eyed peas in pots this past week, and in typical legume-fashion, they’ve already sprouted up.

This years strawberries have been very sweet!

Out in the rest of the yard, my beloved peonies and clematis are about finished flowering. The daisies, canadian anemones, blue flag irises, ohio spiderwort, coral honeysuckle, nepeta, lavender, roses, asiatic lilies, and day lilies are all flowering this week. Our milkweed should be starting here shortly, and I am really exited to see the swamp milkweed again! It’s name absolutely doesn’t do this amazing plant any favors, but it’s my favorite native plant. Not only does it support monarch caterpillars, but the plant blooms with gorgeous little pink and white flowers for a few weeks each year at the end of spring. The flowers are, hands down, my favorite smelling thing in the garden. They smell very sweet, without the perfume-scent of roses or lilacs. And in addition to supporting our endangered monarchs, bees and other pollinators flock to this beauty. I can’t recommend it enough for gardeners in the Midwest. In a container or out in a bed, swamp milkweed is a GEM.

Now that the bulk of the planting for the year is wrapped up, I still have to finish a few landscaping projects around the yard. The Great Pond Area Widening Project has been put on a slight hold, due to a lot of rainy days, followed by a string of days that have just been too blazing hot. I’m hoping to get the rest of the sod pulled out this week, so I can mulch the area and shift a bit of planting around to fill in the new space. I’ve been seeing a lot of bees on the spiderwort that lives there, as well as a few dragonflies and damselflies. It’s a pleasant way to spend some time, just pausing for a bit to watching all the pond residents buzz around the flowers.

Hope that you’ve had a chance to stop and enjoy all of the plants and flowers growing near you. Happy gardening!

The bees have really been enjoying the Ohio Spiderwort flowers this spring.

A Whole New World, Garden Edition

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The deep red hardy hibiscus plant is in bloom again! I love it against the pink echinacea and light purple anise hyssop.

I was away from the garden for a bit, and when I returned, it felt like a whole new space. So many flowers were in bloom, and the near constant rain we had helped add a ton of growth to all the plants. The gardens are looking pretty jungle-ish now, all sprawling with lots of green leaves and summertime color.

The hostas, garden phlox, sunflowers, bergamot, cranesbill geraniums, blanket flowers, penstemon, zinnias, borage, cornflowers, day lilies, and coneflowers are still blooming their little heads off, and the blazing star, joe pye weed, jacob’s ladder, hardy hibiscus, and black-eyed susan’s are now also flowering. Mid-summer in the garden seems to be the time for bold, bright color. Even our amaryllis bulb is about to flower again! It lives in doors all winter, usually blooming a little after New Years’ Day, and I plant it out in the summertime to recharge. I can’t believe it’s about to flower for the second time this year. I must be doing something right!

Met this little grasshopper while watering the pumpkin patch.

With all the flowers blooming away happily, lots of pollinators have been visiting each day. The gardens are packed with happy bees, butterflies, moths, and other pollinators. The black swallowtail caterpillar I rescued from some carrots a few weeks ago made its chrysalis and hatched yesterday. She has gorgeous black wings, tipped with yellow, orange, and blue. I found a second caterpillar on the carrots over the weekend and escorted it into the butterfly enclosure to grow up safely as well. The monarchs should also be visiting the yard soon. I’m keeping an eye on all the milkweed plants for eggs and caterpillars. They always find their way here!

The newly-hatched Black Swallowtail Butterfly <3

In food news, it’s been a bumper crop for all of our herbs. I’m continuing to harvest chives, chamomile, mint, basil, oregano, parsley, dill, fennel, thyme, lavender, and rosemary every week. Some of the herbs are dried, and some I freeze. Many of the things I use most, like basil, I’ll probably bring indoors once it cools off this fall to keep growing. Being able to enjoy fresh herbs year-round is a treat.

Our sugar pie pumpkins are growing! I am SO excited!

When I left, the pumpkin plants were flowering and the vines were winding their way around the deck. They are now taking over the chaise lounge and grill, and we have three baby pumpkins growing! The pumpkins are already about 5″ tall, and still green. I am day-dreaming about the pumpkin pies the husband will be making us to enjoy this fall and through the winter. It seems a bit odd to be thinking about fall crops when it’s in the 90s outside, but at least something enjoys this hot summer weather we’re having!

Somewhere under the green beans lives a trellis. These pole beans are growing wild in the heat and rain! The lettuce growing next to the beans is also a bit unruly. We can’t eat the stuff quickly enough!

Out in the raised beds, I picked our first tomato this weekend! It was one of the san marzano paste tomatoes. The sweet italian pepper plants have also been going wild- I’m pulling off peppers a few times a week now, and dicing and freezing them for use in the family salsa we make up and can each fall. This weekend, I also harvested our garlic, which is now drying in the pantry. The lettuce we have is growing larger than I’ve ever had lettuce grow before- it’s absolutely delicious, and has made for some excellent salads.

The jacob’s ladder flower is in bloom! She lives in the shade, by the wildlife pond. I love her dainty, pale purple flowers.

I also pulled up our first carrots and a leek. The rest could use a little more growing time to bulk up, but the first ones look quite tasty and will be used in some salads this week. It was really nice at the grocery store, just breezing through the produce section- everything I’d normally buy, we have growing in the garden!

Harvest Day! I pulled up the garlic, a tomato, some peppers, red potatoes, a few wee carrots, and a leek. Yum!

Finally, I harvested the first of our red potatoes this week. That was really exciting. It’s my first year growing potatoes, and wow, I will definitely be doing that again next year. What an easy, no maintenance crop. I popped the starters in a grow bag about four months ago, and that was it. I didn’t water them much, no fertilizer, no pruning or trellising… nothing to it, just some dirt and sunshine! To harvest, I just dumped out the bag on a mat, and grabbed my spuds. The first bag had a nice little bounty, and I have three more bags to go through this week. I washed them off, and set them in the pantry to store. Can’t wait to try them out!

The black-eyed susan’s are always so cheery, and the bees love them!

This week looks to be another hot one, but things are drying out a bit. I have some weeding and pruning to do to tame the jungle a bit. I may fertilize the tomatoes and peppers again here and I’d like to do a little clean-up around the pond (the creeping charlie is starting to creep a little too much). It may be about time to harvest the bulk of the basil for some pesto-making as well. That, or I’ll just sit down next to the anise hyssop and bergamot to listen to the bees for awhile.

Hope your week is enjoyable and relaxing. Happy gardening!

The zinnias, blazing star, cranesbill geraniums, hostas, and garden phlox are putting on a real show!

Growing from Seeds

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Well, I’ve poured through the seed catalogs. I ordered more seeds than I can possibly use. I bought dirt. I dug through the piles of old seed-starting supplies in the garage. I put together my nifty little spreadsheet about when to begin sowing everything. And, I riffled through last years notes on what went well, and what… didn’t. There’s really nothing left to do but start planting.

A lot of my seeds don’t need to be planted until next month, but a few (the tomatoes, micro greens, and peppers), are ready for sowing now. So, today I gathered up everything and hopped to it.

There’s something really special about growing your own food. Being able to walk outside, pick a tomato, and then cook with it brings me a lot of joy. And starting the process from seed feels even better. There’s a magic to it. When my seeds germinate, I feel like I did something amazing, even though, I was really just a bystander that fretted about watering the seedlings too much. When you are growing from seeds, you have control over the entire process. You know what, exactly, has been put on your crops (and what has not), and you are able to utilize a much wider selection of plant varieties than typically found at the garden center.

  • Last May in one of the raised beds: marigolds, tomatoes, lettuce, rocket, green beans, and garlic. Yum!

The process for seed-starting is pretty basic. There are a few supplies you shouldn’t skimp on, but also quite a lot that you can re-use, including the pots themselves. You can grow your seeds in egg cartons, old yogurt containers, paper towel tubes, etc., and there’s lots of seed-starting kits available as well. Whatever you choose, make sure your container has plenty of drainage holes at the bottom of it.

Next, let’s talk dirt. I used to use whatever dirt I could find around the house, which was usually potting soil from some indoor plant experiment gone wrong. Potting soil is fine, but if you can find a seed-starting mix, that’s going to be your best bet for planting up your seeds. Seed-starting soils are sterile, meaning that there’s no molds, fungus, or bugs in them that could take out the wee seedlings you’re about to spend so much time fawning over. You can even make up your own if you’re feeling adventurous. Moisten your dirt before potting things up.

Finally, you’ll need your seeds, and it helps to have a container to house your growing trays in. Your seeds will also really benefit if you are able to use grow lights. Your seeds need quite a lot of light, and even the sunniest window sills may not provide enough for healthy plants to grow. Seedlings will be “leggy” without enough light, meaning they grow very thin, with tiny, pale leaves. They aren’t strong enough to support themselves, and won’t grow into healthy plants.

Once you have all your supplies, it’s time to get planting. Soak your seeds in water for a few minutes before planting to help with germination. Then, follow the instructions on your seed packet for planting depth. I usually sprinkle two seeds onto each little space in the containers. That way, if one doesn’t germinate, I’m not out any time.

I label what I planted by writing the name on a popsicle stick and sticking one into each row. I used to just tape the sides of the containers and label them that way, but the marker on the tape would bleed after two months of watering, and then I couldn’t tell what was what.

I set the containers into a tray, and then fill the tray with water to keep from disturbing the seedlings too much. The trays soak up water from the bottom and I don’t end up with dirt shooting all over the house from over-zealous spray-bottle action.

Place your seeds under a grow light, which you will want to keep on for a good 12-16 hours per day. I use 75W LED lights for my seedlings, suspended about 4″ above the plants. For my pepper plants, I also use a heat mat underneath. Peppers are fussy and require lots of heat to germinate.

Something I hadn’t tried in years past, but that I am doing this year, is covering my seed trays in plastic. The humidity will help the seeds germinate, so a clear plastic cover (or in my case, some plastic wrap, propped up by the plant label popsicle sticks) is beneficial. Once your seeds sprout, you can remove the covers since they won’t need so much humidity any more.

Finally, make a note someplace about when you started your seeds. I’ve found it really helpful to keep a gardening journal for this purpose. It’s fun to look back on your garden through a journal each year, and having a place to keep notes helps you remember what works well and what you’d like to improve.

I’ll keep everyone apprised of my seedling progress this winter and spring, but that’s all I have for now. Happy gardening!

Seedy Times

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“Anyone who thinks gardening begins in the spring and ends in the fall is missing the best part of the whole year; for gardening begins in January with the dream.”
-Josephine Nuese

It’s a frosty morning here in Ohio, but I guarantee I’m not the only gardener with spring planting on the mind. For the past few years, I’ve been growing a variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers from seed. While I won’t actually drop any seeds into dirt for another few months, this time of year is when it all begins.

  • Every year at this time, seed catalogs have me haunting the mailbox

Once the seed catalogs start arriving, I begin plotting. I pour through each of them, scribbling down notes about what all I want to stick in the yard this year. Then, I look at the previous years garden journal, and spot that I already made notes there about what I wanted to plant in the upcoming season. Past me is practical. Current me is shouting to the cats about how many new tomato varieties I want to try.

Next, I head to the local garden center, and my eyes glaze over as I start tossing seed packets into my handbasket at random, entirely forgetting about the wish lists I’d worked on at home.

  • I’m going to grow SO many things

Once the dust settles, I sit down to decide what I really want to tackle in the upcoming season. Last year was my most successful seed-growing venture to date. I finally invested in some decent grow lights, the whole production was moved to a cat-free location (two years ago, disaster struck my wee seedlings, in the form of an adventurous calico kitten), and I managed to stick to a watering schedule.

I grew beef steak and roma tomatoes, fennel, basil, oregano, dill, and parsley, started some madder for dyeing, and later in the season, I direct-sowed several types of sunflowers, cosmos, marigolds, pole beans, sugar pie pumpkins, arugula (rocket), and bibb lettuce.

  • Tomato Seedlings

I’ll go into further details about the planting process in future posts, but for now, here are my Seed-Planting Plans:

Veggies
-Carrots (Lake Valley Seed- Heirloom Tendersweet Carrots)
-Leeks (Burpee- Dawn Giant Leeks)
-Lettuce (Burpee- Bibb Blend Lettuce)
-Lettuce (Renee’s Garden- Renee’s Baby Leaf Lettuce Blend)
-Microgreens (Burpee- Burpee’s Mix Microgreens)
-Parsnips (Botanical Interests- All American Parsnips)
-Peppers (Renee’s Garden- Heirloom Italian Sweet Peppers Sunset Mix)
-Pie Pumpkins (Burpee- Heirloom Small Sugar Pie Pumpkins)
-Pole Beans (Kentucky Wonder pole bean seeds that I harvested from last seasons crop)
-Tomatoes (Burpee- Druzba Tomatoes)
-Tomatoes (Burpee- San Marzano Tomatoes)
Herbs
-Basil (Renee’s Garden- Italian Pesto Basil)
-Dill (Lake Valley Seed- Heirloom Mammoth Dill)
-Fennel (Lake Valley Seed- Heirloom Florence Fennel)
-Oregano (I haven’t bought this yet)
-Parsley (Botanical Interests- Giant of Italy Flat-Leaf Parsley)
-Parsley (Botanical Interests- Moss Curled Parsley)
-Thyme (Renee’s Garden- French Thyme)
Flowers
-Chamomile (Lake Valley Seed- German Chamomile)
-Marigolds (Burpee- Happy Days Marigolds)
-Sunflowers (Autumn Beauty Sunflower seeds that I harvested last season)
-Sunflowers (Mammoth Sunflower seeds that I harvested last season)
-Zinnias (Renee’s Garden- Berry Basket Bouquet Zinnias)

In these weird pandemic times, planting seeds feels hopeful. It’s a nice distraction from the world, and, at least to me, few things feel better than the joy of watching your seeds sprout and turn into food and plants that you can later harvest and enjoy.

Happy gardening!