My Gardens

It's in full bloom. My yard that is. Last year, I tried my hand at gardening, organic, of course, and found I really enjoyed it. Knowing that I had time and space constraints, I chose to try my hand at square foot gardening. It was the perfect solution. This year in my 3 foot by 12 foot space, I am growing 4 types of heirloom tomatoes, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, okra, squash, zucchini, spinach, broccoli, swiss chard, basil and dill. In pots around my garden, I'm growing pickling cucumbers, bush cucumbers, habanero peppers and cherry tomatoes. I wanted more squash and zucchini this year so I added another small 2 foot by 6 foot garden put in each of those as well as a cantaloupe and several banana pepper plants.

My herb garden is on my deck. I have dill, basil, rosemary, thyme, lemon thyme, parsley, bee balm, chives and lettuce. After several years, this is the first year that my blueberry plant flowered and produced berries.  I'm watching to make sure I get the ripened berries before the birds do. This spring, my mom gave me a blackberry bush to add to my collection. Told you. I'm loving it.

And a surprise this year...I have a few plants growing in my make-shift compost pile. I'm guessing they're squash and from the looks of them, they really like it there.


We ate fresh veggies all summer last year, and I even had enough to put a few things in the freezer. I think I'm going to try my hand at pickling and canning this summer.  I found several recipes for pickles that call for freezing your jars instead of using a hot water bath or a pressure cooker. Sounds perfect!

If you haven't started a vegetable garden, and want to, it's not too late. You really should check out square foot gardening. It's fast and easy. We made our raised bed frames with a couple of inexpensive 2 x 6 boards. I put up a fence for protection against the rabbits and my 2 year old (he likes to help....maybe a bit too much). If you have no inclination for gardening, then check out this guide to pesticides. It tells which fruits and vegetables you should purchase organic and which ones are the lowest in pesticides. Did you know that only 5% of the world's farmland is dedicated to organic farming?  So, if you can, support your local organic farmers by shopping your Farmer's Markets and local produce stands.