Better Late Than Never
We were so busy trying to get our new (old) barn ready for kidding season during the winter and spring months that we had resigned ourselves to not growing a garden this year. Maybe just a few herbs in planters near the front door. But by the time June came around and the barn was mostly done, we took a look at our neglected garden space and made the executive decision that a late garden was better than no garden at all.
If you didn’t already know, we recently moved to Matt’s grandfather’s house after he passed away last year, so this garden was his and he always shared it with us. So even though we’d grow vegetables and flowers however we could in whatever space we had availabe, we’d often get the majority of our produce from his garden. This garden. So the idea of skipping a year was disagreeable, to say the least.
We started off with just a few raised beds situated on the side of the garden nearest the house. We thought maybe near those boxes, we could transplant a row or two of tomatoes. And while we’re at it, maybe some peppers, eggplant and tomatillos too. That’s it. No need to push ourselves too hard right now. Next year we’ll put more effort into it.
But then we got the garden tilled and brought in a load of compost, and suddenly it was an entire blank page of possibility. And I just so happened to find a forgotten pile of seeds in the fridge that I’d purchased last year for the garden I thought we were going to grow before we moved, plus some older seeds from 2022 and 2021. We might as well plant what we’ve got, right? Who knows if the seeds will even germinate. And since we’re going for it, we might as well see if there are any local farm stores still selling seed potatoes. Yes, it’s late in the season, but let’s just see what happens, right?
Bit by bit, our garden plans grew until we were taking up the whole space.
Well, not the whole space. Matt’s grandpa’s garden would t-off up the hill, but we moved our chickens to that area months ago knowing we would need to reduce the size of our garden for now to make it more manageable, and hoping some of the chicken runoff would slowly decompose and make its way down to the garden to help keep the soil healthy. Plus, chickens near a plot of vegetables is a no-brainer since they have such a love for food scraps.
Magically, most everything we’ve planted has sprouted, including my seed packets from 3 and 4 years ago. I’m happy to know that keeping seeds in the refrigerator, and not just the freezer since freezer space is limited, is a viable option for longer term storage.
Our corn isn’t “knee-high by the Fourth of July,” but maybe fall will take its time again this year. Honestly, even if it’s a complete flop, which I’m sure it won’t be, we still have Matt’s grandpa’s orchard with its many varieties of apples, prunes(plums?) and pears, and all the medicinal herbs I’m finding around the property. So I’ll be busy in the kitchen come August preserving everything. Perhaps we’ll have an opportunity to add some plants to our orchard as well. We’d love to terrace it out, since it’s situated up on a steep hill, and bring in some blueberries and raspberries, and plant a few more fruit trees.
One of the things that brings us constant joy is seeing all of the blooming flowers. Matt’s grandfather was a Master Gardener, so they planted beautiful perennials around the property, and I’ve completely fallen in love with all of the roses. We’ve been trying our best to keep the weeds at bay, but all we can really do this year is document what is popping up where so we have a better chance at getting the weeds under control next year before they get too big.
Last year, we weren’t officially moved in until the last day of July, and the deer most definitely had the place scoped out. Anytime a flower would bloom, it wouldn’t last more than two days before the deer would come to snatch it up. I often would step outside to find them munching on the apple trees near the house, and spied them in the woods by the creek. I’ve been warned they will often disappear for awhile and fake you out, but they’ll always be back. Well, so far we haven’t seen much of them, and I’m secretly hoping they’ve decided it’s not worth bothering us here. There’s plenty to munch on in the woods, right?
I know, I know. Fat chance.
Garden Notes: 2022 Recap
2022 was a strange garden year. For one, it rained clear through June and into July. We didn’t get really hot, tomato-friendly weather until August or so, so we assumed out warmer weather-loving plants were doomed. Fortunately/unfortunately, our warm summer weather extended well into late October, which gave everything that had managed to grow through the cooler, rainy early summer a solid chance to catch up.
The Good
Arugula (standard)
Annina Eggplant
Supremo Cucumbers
Super Verde Tomatillos
Strawberry starts from Azure Standard that produced the whole season
Flashback Mix Calendula
Sun Gold cherry tomatoes
Supersweet 100 cherry tomatoes: This variety began to ripen after the Sun Golds had piqued, and while they weren’t as sweet, they were still delicious and slightly larger.
Jedi jalapeno peppers
Baron poblano peppers
Cinnamon Girl PMR Pumpkins
Dragon fennel
Cruiser Cilantro
Giant of Italy Parsley
Holy Basil from Azure Standard
Evergreen Hardy White Onions
The So-So
Carbon tomatoes
Gold rush currant tomatoes - too small, skins too thick, but they freeze well and can be used in pasta and pizza throughout the winter
San Marzano II: too small, rather flavorless, would’ve gathered grown more
Black Krim: I usually love this tomato, but it didn’t grow well this year
Flavorburst bell pepper
Amazing cayenne peppers
Pantheon zucchini: overprinted and overcrowded in grow bags
Cue Ball squash
Provider Green Beans
Imperial Star artichoke
The Ugly
Storage No. 4 cabbage
Green Magic Broccoli
Genovese Basil: the basil did not grow well this year no matter how hard we tried
Red Rubin Basil
Garlic: we had a good harvest, but smoke from the wildfires seems to have interacted with the cloves and turned them all green. Worth trying again next year.
And a few notes about my garden preserves:
It doesn’t matter how much salsa verde you make. You will run out and be sad when you do.
Pressure can 12 quarts or so of stewed tomatoes next year.
The arugula pesto doesn’t have a very nice stand-alone flavor, but the garlic scape pesto is great.
The grape jelly is delicious!
More candied jalapenos. Makes great gifts for people who like spice.
More dilly beans - the kids like them too.
I’ll come back and edit this note as the year progresses into the next garden season.
Garden Notes, In Retrospect 2021
It’s November now, and the garden is mostly put to bed for the winter. I planted a few garlic bulbs for the first time this week from Filaree Garlic Farm. They went in the raised bed nearest our front door, though I didn’t get them in the ground as soon as I might have liked. I had a really hard time finding a company that wasn’t sold out of seed garlic until I stumbled upon Filaree, which happens to be a local(ish) company located in central Washington.
The main thing I want to express about the 2021 garden season is how glad I am that we took the time to do it at all. We initially weren’t going to because we had so many homestead projects on our to-do list that we didn’t think we’d have the time or energy for it.
But as the weather got warmer, something shifted for me:
It was a hot evening in late June, and I was out in the front yard eating dinner and chatting with Matt while the girls were running around in the sprinkler to cool off, and I looked around at our situation. The porch was a mess, there was a patch of bark dust with weeds overtaking the area by the house, and the shrubbery along the fence needed some major TLC. It wasn’t pretty, but we were outside together, and I suddenly realized how much we needed to prioritize that. To slow down, relax now and then, and play outside together as a family.
It seems pretty straightforward thinking about it now, but we had just spent the past year in go-go-go mode, scrambling to get our homestead up and running, so it took some thought and intention to slow things down.
And then I realized how much more we would enjoy our outdoor space if we could get things cleaned up a little, paint the deck (still hasn’t happened), plant a garden, maybe use that sprinkler the girls had been playing in to also water said garden... everything just clicked.
So although we were in the middle of a big project, I asked Matt if he wouldn’t mind side-tracking for a few days to build a few (or 8) garden beds. I already had my seeds ordered, and my MIL had very generously brought over a few extra tomato and pepper starts a few weeks prior, so we got to work designing and building and planting.
Sure enough, this little bit of work made our outdoor space instantly more enjoyable for all of us. We ate most our meals outside when it was hot while the kids played in the water. And when the plants grew, the girls loved watching the progress. Later, once the peppers and tomatoes had ripened, they helped me harvest. I even wrangled my older daughter into helping me weed here and there too. My kids really seemed to enjoy the garden as much as we did.
That said, now that it’s November and we are eating our preserved garden food on a regular basis, I can tell you there are a few things I really wish I had done differently. So here are some things my November self would like to express to my future gardening, harvesting and preserving self:
Start earlier - plant cold weather crops in Feb & March (peas, lettuce, kale, beets)
Schedule out succession planting or you’ll forget
In the front yard: rip up sod on the back side of porch, design space for more garden boxes and gravel/brick pathways
In the backyard: set up boxes along the fence and shade line by the house + privacy wall
Build all garden boxes two tiers high minimum to ward off wild rabbit population
Add wood + bark chips to the bottom of the garden boxes to fill in space and top with soil and compost
Plant more full-sized tomatoes, hot peppers (including cayenne), tomatillos, basil, cilantro, calendula, carrots, beets, sunflowers…
Plant potatoes in the grow bags
Always have the dehydrator working: greens powder, herbs, green onions, garlic, apple slices, tomatoes (to make powder which can be used in lieu of tomato paste)
Completely restock vinegar pickles: dilly beans, bread and butters, spicy dill, candied jalapeño
Plant your own green beans and cucumbers even though we have some growing in the family garden, just in case
Use green tomatoes and tomatillos for salsa verde
Make more pear and apple butter
Try some new jam recipes (caramelized onion, fig, balsamic, rhubarb)
Fermenting: sauerkraut, carrot + beet kraut, fermented salsa
Freeze: rhubarb (harvest continuously), zucchini (try again), greens, corn (immediately after harvest for better flavor), roasted tomato puree, basil pesto, other pesto varieties, zucchini bread and garden-based baked goods
Foraging: hawthorn greens for tea + salad + tincture
Juice and freeze: apples juice (save pulp for goats), crabapples (make jelly), pears
If you can’t grow it, buy from a local farm: strawberries, peaches/nectarines, blackberries
Stock up well on fresh lids, pectin, freezer containers, vinegar, sugar, salt and lemon/lime juice, herbs and pickling spices well before canning season
Harvest and process daily so it doesn’t get overwhelming
Plant calendula everywhere
Fig tree and dahlias to be brought out front
Cut plants at the end of the season at the base and leave the roots to decompose in place
Use fall leaves as bed mulch
One thing to note: while we do have lots of yard space, our septic system wraps around the house, limiting where we can dig and plant directly in the ground. Because of this, we’ve opted to go with raised beds for most our gardening needs, though it might be useful to find a little patch for growing potatoes in the ground next year.
I plan to continue adding to this list as I think of things to reference later, but this is a good place to start.
In the Garden: Spring 2019 Recap
Hello and welcome! Today's post is a little different than my usual thing. The videos I make and everything else I put out on my blog and social media are first and foremost a creative outlet for me and a way to document parts of our lives, so in the future I'll be expanding the content on my channel. For those who follow along with my knitting video podcast, please know I have no intention of quitting, so you can expect to continue seeing new knitting videos for the foreseeable future, and I’ll have them labeled clearly (and in a playlist) so you know where to find them.
In this video, I share what I’m hoping will serve as a before picture of our garden space and everything that went on in spring. I know we’re already a couple weeks into summer now, but I wanted to get the information on film now while it's still fresh in my mind so I can use it as a reference point for next year's garden. Things are doing well so far, especially considering we have a newborn and weren't nearly as productive as we normally would’ve been, but we are going to just keep building, bit by bit, on what we already have (and make it “extra,” if you will), so hopefully this glimpse into the present state of things will be fun to look back on in the future.
I'll come back soon with another garden update and share everything that's growing. Things are happening fast now that it's summer, so everything already looks a lot different than what you see here. Future garden updates will probably be in more of a vlog style.
Until next time!
Tools and Equipment:
Grow bags (we use the 25 gallon size for our potatoes, the 10 gallon size for our dahlias and the 2 gallon size for our basil: https://amzn.to/2ROcPxO (This is an affiliate link. I make a small commission if you use these links, and I only share products that I use myself and highly recommend).