Month: June 2023

Yesterday, my daughter and I went to Laura’s Gardening Service, and I purchased two elderberry bushes and seven goldenrod plants, and while we have both on our property, they are back in the woods. I wanted more varieties, and also I wanted them planted closer to the house.

Because of the rain, I decided to hold off planting them yesterday; however, I did place all the plants in the general area where they would be planted, and today, I transplanted all of them. It took about two hours to get the area prepped and all the plants in the ground. I added pine bark mulch to the site and stopped because I ran out. I ordered more from my local Home Depot and was able to complete this task early this evening.

From my research, elderberry bushes are self-fruitful; however, you will have a larger crop if you have another elderberry species. While we do have elderberry on the property since they are in the woods, I decided it might be wise to purchase other elderberry bushes to ensure that pollination is occurring between the different elderberry species. I ordered three other bushes and will plant them in the same area once they arrive.

Goldenrod and elderberry are lovely choices for pollinators, and they both are native to my state. In addition, they are both edible. I look forward to watching the plants grow and eventually doing some responsible harvesting to make tinctures, teas, jellies, etc.; I’ll be freeze-drying the herbs with my Harvest Right-Medium Freeze dryer.

My lovely daughter took a short video of the mulching.

 

My tomatoes are coming along quite nicely. Since Thursday, we’ve received a lot of rain. It’s much needed since we have not received adequate rainfall in about a month. I use stakes and clips to support my tomato plants.

A few reasons I use stakes in my garden

1. Easier to access and harvest the tomatoes
2. Adds strength and support
3. Reduces the chances of the produce rotting since it’s not sitting in the soil

I’ve been busily converting our garden into mainly raised garden beds for several weeks. I’ve been in the garden daily for several hours. Time flies by when I’m out there. I enjoy it immensely.

 

Earlier this week, I ordered more enriched topsoil, seven yards,  delivered to our home. One yard weighs about 2200 pounds. I moved five tons (one ton is 2,000 pounds) of topsoil in a few hours and another ton the next day.

I’ve used most of the topsoil; I might have about 1.5 yards left. I’ll spread that out in the area since my daughter wants a swingset under the trees.

 

I’ve added pine bark mulch to all the raised garden beds, and now I’m adding it to my tomato plants.

It’s been a lot of work, and there’s still so much to do; however, I must say that I’m thrilled with how it’s starting to look.

The blueberry bushes are bearing fruit, and we’ve been staying on top of picking the fruit.

I was able to pick a small bowl full of blueberries yesterday evening.

 

Now, all we need is rain. We haven’t had adequate rain in almost a month. My daughter and I have been trying to stay on top by watering different parts of our garden daily. However, nothing beats good rain, and I’ll be happy when we finally receive it. Looking at the forecast, it’s a possibility of rain from Wednesday until Sunday.

About a month ago, this bed only had flowers, and now it’s home to flowers, herbs, and spices.

Yesterday I added basil and oregano to this flower bed.

The day before, I added four more eucalyptus to this spot. I’d added cayenne peppers the week early, and a few weeks back, I’d added cilantro and eucalyptus.

I have several flower beds throughout our property, and I’m slowly adding herbs, vegetables, or both to my flower beds. This garden bed is right beside our front porch; that’s the same porch with the two types of mint-grown-in pots.

Yesterday, I added cabbage to the flower bed facing our small, quiet community road. I believe it’ll be an excellent addition once they are fully grown.

My vego-raised garden beds are slowly starting to fill with vegetables and herbs.

In the raised garden bed above, I have Red Beauty bell peppers.

And this bed is a mix of cabbage and collard plants.

 

2023 marks the first year I’ve used raised garden beds and the first time I’ve used Vego raised garden beds. The brand was recommended to me by a friend. My daughter set up the beds without any issues. The metal is sturdy, and I haven’t had any problems filling them.

I’ve been filling my garden beds with shredded cardboard and soil. The shredded cardboard comes from the boxes I receive from various orders, mainly from Amazon. I have a heavy duty shredder that blasts through any cardboard I shove down its throat. I’ve been bagging and setting aside my shredded cardboard in the shed, waiting until I could use them in gardening.