Three common methods for trellising tomatoes are the single stake method, the low and lean method, and the cattle panel method. We’ve got a bed dedicated to each method in our garden this year to compare them side by side. Each of these trellising methods has pros and cons and can be adapted for different types of tomatoes or growing conditions. The following post will review each type in detail and share anecdotes from our experiment, including our failures!

Due to its long growing season, garlic is a crop that is planted and harvested once - not succession planted throughout the year like some other crops. Harvesting a year’s supply of garlic all at once means that the harvest, curing, and storage must be done with care.

A cut flower is a flower grown to be harvested for bouquets and flower arrangements. Cut flowers are usually known for their long vase life (how long a bloom stays alive after being cut), colorful or dramatic blooms, long stems, unique foliage, or all of the above. Cut flowers can be perennials (plant comes back year after year), annuals (planted every year), bulbs, tubers, or rhizomes.

Traditionally hügelkultur has been used as a way to build soil. Typically you would dig a hole in the ground, line it with large logs (preferably ones that have started rotting or decomposing), stack it with smaller ones, add mulch or leafy debris, and then top it with compost and soil. By the time this pile is constructed, you have a mound that is as tall as it is wide.

We could dig up a really complex and scientific definition of companion planting but it’s really just when two or more different crops are planted in the same vicinity in order to benefit at least one of the plants. There are a lot of benefits that companion planting can provide, which is what can make it a little overwhelming.

Purchasing seeds can seem like a big investment but growing from seed can actually save you a lot of money when you have a large garden. A packet of seeds is usually $2-$5 and can produce 10-100+ plants. A start from a nursery is $3-$5 and will produce 1-3 plants (typically just one but sometimes there’s an extra one or two plants in that pot!). This post will share where and what seeds I purchased for this season and reflect on some of the mistakes I’ve made in the past.

I have been organizing my seeds and grouping them by date and type of planting for a few years now. All of the seeds I will start indoors the first week of February are grouped together with a cover sheet that has the date. I created some dividers based on this system and laminated them. I used a dry erase marker on them to mark dates so I can reuse them year after year. I loved them so much that I want to share them with you!

The more independent and mobile your baby gets, the more attentive and flexible you need to be. I said a lot of “don’t eat that”, “that’s not ripe yet” and did a lot of diverting. I found it rewarding to spend time with her outside and teach her something new. “Here’s a dandelion. It’s yellow. Can you find me another dandelion?”.

Gardening is a great way to promote the activity and life cycles of pollinators. You can naturally attract, protect, and promote the activity of pollinators by using these simple tips!

Seed packets are akin to food labels, it seems no one really reads them anymore and if they do, they aren’t sure what they’re reading. There’s a lot of jargon that I often take for granted - hardiness zone, hardening, direct sow, transplant, maturity, annual, biennial, and that’s just on the seed packet! Let’s decode some of this info so you can get growing with confidence this season!

This year we grew four different canning tomato varieties - Roma, San Marzano, Jersey Devil & Opalka. We also grew some slicing varieties - big rainbow and boxcar willie. Then there’s the snacking tomatoes - sun gold, geranium kiss, and red pears.

Fall garden planting can be a little overwhelming - here’s a quick guide with super helpful info to help you determine where, what, and how to grow a thriving fall garden!

When I took time to reflect on the garden thus far and look back at last year’s notes to compare how things are going I realized that we are so far ahead of where we were last year! Everything is planted except our in-ground bed of corn, squash, and some herb ground cover and our kitchen garden on our deck and patio.

Gardening at this time of the year is like playing on a teeter totter - one side holds the rush of the season, the never ending to do lists and the feeling that there’s not enough time to get it all done; the other tells us to slow down, unpredictable weather makes knowing when to plant difficult, heavy spring rains that keep us inside, grateful for the rest deep down.

Last year (2021) we built 10 raised beds. Using 2x4 lumber this would have cost us over $100 per bed. That kind of price is not in our budget. So we used cedar fence pickets. Last year a 6” x 6’ cedar fence picket was only $2 (or less), making the cost per bed around $20. TWENTY DOLLARS.

We started seeds in mid-February so we have had about 6 weeks of gardening under our belt already. It may not be the back-breaking, sweaty, dirt-under-your-nails type of gardening that happens from late April through June (and beyond) but it’s still gardening!

Carrots are one of the items that we ALWAYS have in the fridge. We started giving them to the dogs instead of traditional treats a while back and we cook with them a lot. We have tried to grow them every year that we’ve had a garden (2022 will be year 6) and have never had an impressive harvest. We just plant them and pay no attention to the varieties that we are growing or what carrots actually need to grow successfully.