One of the many fun parts of writing this blog is looking back at older posts for a visual journal of our life on the homestead. Exactly one year ago I published this garden update. It’s hugely encouraging for me to see that the garden has improved bit by bit, growing bigger and better each year. Since we started literally with a pile of manure and a round bale of straw, using the sheet mulch or lasagna gardening method, the soil has improved every season.
For instance, this bed of lettuce – WOW! While I completely overseeded the bed, it has provided us with bountiful, tender, amazing salads. And way more than we can eat (canned lettuce, anyone?) In the background are red and Walla Walla onions that I grew from sets.
Thanks to a long, relatively cool, rainy spring, our brassica crops are doing really well. The kids love eating broccoli and cauliflower in all forms, and I am looking forward to making a few batches of sauerkraut.
This trellis will be the support for a wide variety of slicing and pickling cucumbers. Making use of vertical space in the garden allows me to fill the rest of the bed with Swiss chard, collards, cilantro, and kale.
Can you tell that I have an obsession with cattle panel trellises?! They work amazingly well as a support for beans, cukes, tomatoes, peas, and even small melons and squash.
In order to combat invasive grasses that were encroaching perennial herbs and flowers, I dug up entire sections of my perennial bed, painstakingly pulled out grass rhizomes, and created three new flower/herb garden spaces. Many of these plants came with me all the way from Oregon. They carry with them stories of friends who gave me divisions, and gardens of long ago.
And in the upper garden, this bed of snap and snow peas is kicking some serious garden booty. When I look back at last year’s post and see what I considered a “good” stand of peas, I almost have to laugh out loud! The key to my success this year – overseeding. Yup. That’s the advice I’m giving you today. If you want to have a great crop of peas, sow a ton of pea seeds. Oh, and hope for a really long, mild spring with a ton of rain. That helps too.
What’s growing in your garden right now?
Where do you get your onion sets? I started mine from seed back in January and they are lagging about 6 weeks behind yours. http://simplyresourceful.blogspot.com/2015/03/starting-seeds-indoors.html
I bought them from our local Amish “variety store.” I did start some from seed as well, and those are also lagging behind. The sets just take off – you should see my Walla Wallas!
I admire all the efforts and sacrifices you have made to live sustainably. Growing your own food can be so satisfying. Looks like your hard work is paying off. Thank you for the inspiring pictures of your improved garden. It’s a work of art. Note to self: Sow more seeds! Thanks Teri.
Thanks, Karen!
Now is the time of year when I’m sort of kicking myself for sowing too many seeds. I can barely walk down some paths!
Gorgeous! Love the layout of your garden so much. Are you doing biodynamic gardening as well as Waldorf? It’s something I’ve been intrigued by. Love all the straw mulch. That’s the huge downside to living here.. straw is so expensive!! Brassicas are a hit or miss here, with 87F weather this May they aren’t liking it. Our broccoli was the size of a dollar. Our garden is doing pretty well considering the pregnancy, we harvested more food this May compared to any other year! 🙂
Hi Isis,
We have had the most mild May this year! The lettuce is still so sweet and tender, and the brassicas are doing great! I do not practice biodynamic gardening at all. I have learned some about it, but it hasn’t been something that’s stuck with me. Thanks for saying hi!
Your garden is beautiful..love the lettuce and onions……what kind of green beans do you guys plant ? The WHITE HALF RUNNERS are my favorite green beans and one called GREASY BEANS would be the next….been here 6 yrs, yet to even find the Greasy Beans, but occasionally in Amish Contry you can find the White Half Runners…..what are your favorite kind of green beans to grow ?
If you ever get a chance to try one of these, please do so, I think you would love them….
Do you ever dry green beans ? Have you heard of Shuck Beans ? They are dried beans and so delicious….I have bag that I dried in the summer and was going to cook them for Thanksgiving, and forgot about them….
Have a good day, enjoy your blog…..
I planted mostly Blue Lake Pole Beans this year. I also planted a type of long bean, but I got it from a neighbor and can’t remember the name. I’ll have to look up the varieties you suggested – thank you!
I am so impressed Teri! Here I am in Zone 3-4 and I just ate my first radish. Have been eating spinach and chives for a while now but JUST planted my beets, carrots, onions, peas and beans! Oh how I wish to live somewhere warmer sometimes!
Ah yes, zone 5-6 has quite the growing season! I finally have every single bed planted – the very last to put in were sweet potatoes – and now I’m filling nooks and crannies with additional sowings of lettuce and spinach and kale. But in a few days everything will be growing on top of everything else and I’ll have cursed myself for planting too close! It’s raining now, and will be in the 70-80’s all week – perfect garden weather! Enjoy your radish and spinach and chives!
Beautiful! 🙂
Your garden looks beautiful! We love using cattle panels as well. Sometimes I wish I lived farther south looking at how far along your garden is.
My family are just starting out with homemaking. I have given up full time work in the hope of making it as a full time housewife and mum. So much to learn so when my girls go to bed this evening I will be making myself a cuppa and settling down to read your blog. Thanks for sharing. I am pleased I have found you 🙂 x
I’m glad you found me! Enjoy!
Wow your garden looks beautiful. My garden this year feels different, we had a very dry winter and spring so far, so i need to constantly water the beds, I still have nit everything in the ground, like cucumbers going in this week and then I am done. The berries are coming along nicely though and I already harvested lettuce, onions and radish but the focus this year is not 100% on the garden but on my newborn twins, still pictures of the garden are up on my blog
Ah, congratulations! that’s quite a lot of work right there! Enjoy your garden and your twins!