Garden 2025 Update #3: Companion Planting

At the beginning of every garden season I like to take a refresher course on companion planting. There are so many combinations of herbs, flowers, fruits & veggies that you can do that it's hard to remember them all and some years you want to change things up a little! 😀 Not to mention, this is only my 6th year seriously growing so I'm not exactly a professional. One of the most enjoyable things about it is continuing to learn how it all works the way God designed it to work. 

My sources on this vary from books at home to YT videos from seasoned gardeners & homesteaders. The latest one I watched was from Grace Walk Farm - Companion Planting for Beginners She explains it well: 

"Companion planting is my favorite way to manage pests and improve the quality and quantity of harvests from our backyard farm." 

Companion planting of herbs & flowers around your garden has a wide variety of benefits from improving the soil heath, attracting bees & butterflies as well as attracting other beneficial insects that ward off pests.  It's also a really great way to add pops of lovely color and make your garden even more enjoyable to spend time in.

My short list of companion planting I'll be doing this year: 

• TOMATOES with Basil, Marigolds & Cosmos 
• STRAWBERRIES with Sage
• PEPPERS: Thyme, Marigolds & Yarrow
• CUCUMBERS: Dill, Echinacea & Sunflowers
• LEMON BALM: English Lavender

Companion plantings are usually the last thing I plan after I have the rest of the garden planned out for what will go where.  Now that this is done, the garden planning for 2025 is done (mostly!) & ready for the snow to melt. 

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope this helps you in some way as you begin to plan your 2025 garden.  Please feel welcome to leave a comment or question & have an awesome day! 🌺

 

Garden 2024 Update #14: Season's End (almost!)

Seven months ago I began my garden updates with some big ideas for 2024.  In that post, exactly 7 months ago today, I mentioned how I was spending some concerted effort with things that I haven't previously had much success with.  Sweet potatoes and onions from seed. Well the onions were a complete flop just like before, since the squirrels and chipmunks just absolutely love young onions, and ate them all. I won't be trying that again, I'll just get my onions from the local farmer's market instead. The sweet potatoes on the other hand, are doing fantastic. 

Starting with slips I grew & then transfered to jars of water, I ended up with 4-6 slips in each 20 gallon grow bag.  They seemed to struggle most of the first half of the season but then when the intense heat of the summer showed up, they took off like mad.  I suppose that makes sense considering sweet potatoes are actually a tropical crop.  They did excellent in this location too, so my plans for next year will be to grow them here in the same place.  Possibly in grow bags again, or possibly in a raised bed along this side of the sand area. I love the way raised beds make the growing space so organized and tidy, so I really think this area needs one of those to go toward my goal of beautifying my growing space.  

Another crop that did really well for me this year were jalapenos. I discovered Cowboy Candy a few years ago and it became an instant hit with the entire family as well as many friends. I never seem to make enough for it to last more than a couple of months (in addition to all the jars I give away in gift baskets) so this year's plan was to make at least twice as much!  I like to mix up the peppers 1/2 & 1/2 with jalapenos and sweet peppers, to dial the heat down a little and that works out perfect for everyone.

Overall this year, I had some pretty wonderful successes with garlic, basil, mint, lemon balm, peppers, carrots, blackberries, apples, potatoes, tomatoes and even my cucumbers that got flooded out far too early in the season.  Next year I'll be dialing it in even more, and focus more on what grows well in my wee garden.  I'll still make room for experiments but after many years of trying out new things, trying new spaces to see what grows best, where, I think I've finally sorted all of that out.  

While I haven't harvested the sweet potatoes yet, those are on the list to clear out over the next couple of weeks along with all the rest of the tomato and pepper plants and then mulch a ton of maple leaves for topping off all the beds for winter, and putting the garden to bed. I plant my garlic on Halloween, and this year I'm going to plant twice as much as in years prior, since we always run out long before the season is over. 

It's been a really good growing season for me, and I hope this inspires you to get out there and use whatever space you have, wherever you are, and grow some of your own amazing food! 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have an incredible day. 

Garden 2024 Update #13: A Garden & Kitchen Tour

It's hard to believe it's already September. The growing season always seems so short, and over way too soon.  While it's not quite over yet, it's coming quickly and the chore of "putting the garden to bed" has already started. 

Come join me on a walk through the garden & peek into the kitchen:

Mid August when the garden is most lush. 

I love the way it looks when food is spilling out of the raised beds the way the carrot tops are.

I've been working on beautifying (as much as possible) the inside of my wee cottage. 

As I always say, it was really nice of me to buy this hot tub for my cats. 😂

My 2nd to last Mars Madness Hibiscus flower this year. 

They cast such a gorgeous pop of color in the garden. 

Yet another contender in the "mutant tomato of the year" contest. 

All the green tomatoes are growing on a single stem that appears to have grown out of the red tomato. 

Terra Cotta Yarrow - orange blooms are new - they yellow out in about a week. 

Apparently the carrot heard about the mutant vegetable of the year contest. 

What you get when you leave your wee bunch of carrots in the box lid. 

Scarlet Runner Beans were late bloomers but look at 'em go now!

The grape vines are taking over. 

My Cherry Wine at 8 weeks.  It's fantastic! 🍷 Recipe is here.

Sometimes the harvest looks like this. 

New Fridge Pickle recipe I'm trying from here

The spear on the left is 1 day old. 

The one on the right, the more olive colored one, is a week old. 

Perfectly pickled & garlicy goodness. 

25-ish pounds of tomatoes 

A year's worth of ketchup (more or less) and 2 quarts of rich tomato juice.

I use Sarah's recipe here

The late summer clear up has begun. 

Out are the butternut squash (non-producers this year) and blackberries are now in their place. 

Clear up continues with the removal of the last of the vines on Cucumber Lane. 

This whole section is being planned for renovation for next spring. 

One of the last berry clusters this year.  

The bushes were HUGE procucers and I couldn't be happier.

Thanks for coming along on a tour through the garden & the peek into the kitchen. 

I hope you were encouraged or inspired in some by your visit today. 

Garden 2024 Update #12

Mid August is also mid season for harvesting & canning. I've been busy with a lot of both, from my own garden & the local farmer's market for the freshest possible goodness. 😍 Canned so far this season have been garlic dills, bread & butter pickles, peach sauce, blueberry sauce, fruit syrups, peaches & pickled carrots.

Well then, let's go on a walk through the garden:

I couldn't be more delighted with this year's blackberry yield so far. 

This is year 3 and so far it's produced 1.5 pounds of berries. 

By comparison, last year it produced a handful. Literally 😂 

Looking forward to enough for a lovely, late summer blackberry pie. 

Lemon Balm on the left, was growing in a pot. 

The one one the right, I planted from seed last year, indoor greenhouse overwintered, 

then planted in the raised bed in the spring. If plants could talk? 

The yellowing one on the left would say "I'll have what he's having!" 😀

My Scarlet Runner beans never fruited this year but they did provide this lovely, living decor 

over the arch trellis. Over the last few seasons this trellis has had pumpkins, squash & beans.  

Next year, I'm looking forward to trying something different.  

Some days the harvest looks like this. 

Tomatoes, sweet roasting peppers, jalapenos, pickling dills and some chamomile flowers. 

I counted and tried to be accurate and I *think* there are 46 jalapenos here on these 12 plants. 

I've already harvested a handful so that's a pretty good return. I'm seed saving this year so, 

next year, Lord willing, the entire bed of peppers will be 100% homegrown. 

I finally got my act together (mostly) and tidied up the dining room canning shelf. 

I'm going to add another shelf to divide the section 2nd from the top. 

(More space for jams, jellies and sauces!)

Home grown & home canned food is not only better for you, it's also really pretty sitting there on 

your pandemic era lockdown project #436 "canned food shelves" mostly with lumber you had on hand. 😁 

My new Hibiscus Mars Madness bloomed today. 

Flowers will be used for tea blends. 

Concord grapes and sweet potatoes are both doing really well this year. The grapes will be 

generously pruned this fall and the grow bags for the sweet potatoes were just a test. 

I may be replacing them with a permanent raised bed this fall or next spring. 

First time Elderberry grower. I have 2 plants, and they're both doing amazing.

Terracotta Yarrow early blooms. So adorable. 💗

Thanks for stopping by and going on a pictorial trip through the garden. I hope it encourages you to use whatever space you have to grow what you love! 

Garden 2024 Update #11

With the end of July this brings us into mid-season for my growing area here in 6a. All of August, September and roughly half of October are left until our last frost date. It almost seems hard to believe we're already at the mid-season point but so far the garden has been mostly successful.  

Here's how things are shaping mid-season:

A common sight first thing in the morning. 

As I always say, it was really nice of me to buy an inflatable hot tub for my cats. 😂

Some of this year's potato harvest went toward one of my favorite freeze dried items: instant potatoes. Such a great way to put up food for long term or even short term.  

I make my mashed potatoes (skins on) with just milk, then freeze dry.  

These three small trays were just over 6 pounds and it all fits into a quart jar. Wild, eh? 😄 

To make mashed potatoes, I add 1/2 cup boiling water to just 3 tablespoons of mashed potato powder, a little butter & salt and pepper.   Mix well and let sit for 2-3 minutes to fully redydrate.

Last week's Mutant Tomato (has been seriously upstaged)

My single surviving cucumber vine is still producing incredibly well.  

This is part 1 of a 2 part experiment.  The old wives tales tell us you cannot clip off strawberry runners and plant them, you have to leave them attached to the mother plant and allow them to root naturally where they are.  Well, that's part 2 down below.  I clipped all of these off about 2 weeks ago and they're doing just fine so far.

My landscaping staples were far too long for this, so I improvised and used the handle ends of clothes pins to pin the runners into place inside the little pots. 

My sweet potatoes had really been stuggling until about 2 weeks ago when they finally starting taking off. I can only guess that it has something to do with the heat & humidity, which we've had in abundance over the last few weeks.  So far they're doing better than sweet potatoes have ever done in my garden so I'm happy with these results so far. 

Last year this Honey Crisp had 2 apples.  This year it has 10! 

In this area of the garden there are elderberries, rhubarb, hazelnuts, blackberries, lilacs, dill, cilantro, basil, lemon balm, butternut squash, potatoes, carrots, raspberries and hibiscus.  My goal in turning my wee piece of property into a thriving Food Forest means using every available space for growing something edible, medicinal, herbal, or all of the above.  

This Musk Mallow grows wile alongside the garage in full shade all day. 

It's not only beautiful, it attracts loads of bees and it's beneficial for a variety of medicinal uses.  

My first ripe Pink Ponderosa tomato this year.  

I thought last week's Mutant Tomato was wild, but it's got nuthin' on this week's specimen.

My raised bed runneth over. With carrots that surround the peppers. 💖

Ed says, he approves.  😁

Thanks for stopping by and taking a stroll through the garden with me. I hope this encourages you to get out there and grow your own as well!

Garden 2024 Update #10

Other than a sad loss of cucumbers this year from constant rain and flooding, the garden is pretty much right on track.  I'm also including some fun pics of my walk at the river, because there's always something cool to get pics of.

This is my volunteer tomato plant looks to be a slicer!  Growing in the same pot is a strawberry plant, and some purslane that I posted a pic of last update.

Doubled in size since last week. Each time I've googled this plant, from any angle, it tells me it's a Black Mulberry. If you're a mulberry grower, I'd love to hear from you to confirm!

Sometimes, harvests look like this. My wee basket of cherry tomatoes and spearmint for the tea jar.

Spotted this dude on the blackberries.  Google tells me he's a Snipe Fly, or a Rhagio. 

I'm going with Rhagio, as it sounds like a cool name you might find in a Tolkien story. 

On the way to the walking path at the river, I spotted this lovely creature.  It didn't appear afraid of me at all, and let me get about 4 feet away, taking pics.  I'm more or less a Disney Princess now. 😂

Cool structure spotted in the woods, that wasn't there last week.  Lots of kids play in these woods so I suspect one of them or a group of them decided to build this. Very impressive!

Scarlet Runner Beans showing off in the middle of the garden 💖

First batch of garlic dills this year.  Half were mine, the other half I had to pick up at the farmer's market.  Cucumber Lane will be getting an overhaul this fall after the season is over, and I'll be building two new raised beds there instead of planting directly in the ground. 

Just being a Disney Princess again as these two doves let me walk right up to them. 💖

Thanks for stopping by and taking the garden stroll with me 😊