In the Garden
A peek at our garden before we tear it all down and then start again on our new property. We move to our very first home in two weeks so there are many, many things to harvest, prepare and either cook or freeze in the meantime!
We’ve learned a lot (mostly from our mistakes) this first season of growing in North America with some questions still unanswered (are curly carrots just a cause of not enough thinning?). We know we need more space and that although we love our raised beds, they aren’t ideal for everything (pumpkin mayhem!). And we also learned that yes, you really can replant those whole lettuce heads (the head carefully cut, with the base, roots and dirt attached still attached) from the supermarket and they will regrow.
Speaking of pumpkins- we grew our very first pumpkins and squash this season- a dream (albeit quirky) of mine for years to be able to harvest such beauties!
Our harvest season was cut short this year by the move, but I am so looking forward to another and even more bountiful one. It feels so good to head outdoors each morning and to observe (in wonder) the slow progression of seed to seedling to flower to fruit. We also took one tiny step in the right direction towards self-sufficiency and certainly cut quite a few weekly items off of our grocery list.
How has your garden grown this summer? Or conversely if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, what are you planting this Spring?
What a beautiful story you’re telling here with your inspiring ideas, and gorgeous photographs- truly a much needed breath of fresh air for me this evening. I read through all your posts, stopping only after the rhythm at mealtime one because this mama needs to get some sleep, lol. But thank you so much- I needed this, and will bookmark your page for next time!
xx Erin
PS. Came from Soule mama link
Thank you so much for your kind words Erin! I hope you had a restful and restorative sleep! M.
Hi Meagan!
Lovely photos of your raised beds and children too. I love how you’ve just used sticks for the climbing plants. We do that too. No need to go out and buy what you can find around you, right. I think it adds a bit of personality to the strict looking square boxes in our garden 🙂
We haven’t eaten all the vegetables yet, but through the season, all in all, we have radishes, carrots (still in there, hope they’ll be good), lots and lots of french beans, wild strawberries (we went looking for some along the road last summer and “stole” some plants, and the multiply really easy) sweetpeas, and a selection of herbs we use a lot. And we have bushes with red and black currant, and one bush with gooseberries (but nobody likes them!)
I hope you’ll show us how your new garden will be like 🙂
x Camilla
That’s wonderful to hear- what a bounty! And good to hear that the strawberries were relatively easy. I would really like to plant some on our new property but was a bit nervous. Will need to read some more about it!
Gorgeous photos! Just purchased my Spring guide today – excited to read with a cuppa tonight after the little ones go down. We love growing our own foods too. As for the curly carrots – they need deep, soft soil. The softer the better! Easier for them to stretch their roots down 🙂
Thank you so much for the advice Renee! I think that was absolutely the problem as our soil was quiet firm and clay-based. Enjoy getting into your rhythm and the Springtime planting! x m.
I had my first garden this year and it was such a rewarding experience with my children. We did some containers because I didn’t know how we’d do and we wanted to be able to move them off the patio if we needed. Next year we will be building our first raised bed and I’m looking forward to growing more delicious veggies 🙂
Sounds wonderful Jenn! That is exactly how we started 7 years ago- a few old containers on the patio of our studio apartment. Every year we add more and love the journey! X m.