My garden is looking so good. By far my best garden and I am very proud. Is it perfect? No. Are there things I would do differently? Yep.

I am learning and hoping to do the research and trial and error so I can help other people in the future, because like many hobbies, gardens can be expensive and time consuming. I am hoping to come up with some great tips, but this is what I have came up with this year so far.

Plants that are growing well

• Tomatoes: The trellis system I made for the tomatoes has been working excellent – I am still waiting for my tomatoes to ripen. I have so many green tomatoes, and I am sure they will all ripen at once and overwhelm me in the best possible way.

• Herbs: My basil, peppermint, oregano, and parsley that I planted in the garden are doing amazing. My peppermint is definitely taking over a bit, but that is ok it has enough room.

• Corn: The tassels on the top of my corn have started growing! I am so happy the corn is actually growing well. We also have a baby corn growing.

• Beans/Peas: I have had my first harvest! They taste so good. They are growing up the corn pretty well too

• Squash: My spaghetti squash is doing amazing. It has spread across the garden fence and has my largest squash on it. The zucchini and the yellow squash just started fruiting, but I am happy with them nonetheless.

• Peppers: There are little baby peppers growing – I am not sure if the peppers will ripen in time because I started them super late. But they are growing well and have a nice and thick stalk. So I will call it a success either way, because I solved my past issues with peppers.

• Berries: All the berries are doing relatively well. They have produced some fruit, but they are all still small. A chipmunk keeps eating my strawberries before I get to them.

• Arugula: I cut my arugula! We used it all up and it had so much flavor. I will most likely plant more this fall (along with some lettuce).

• Sunflowers: They are tall, looking beautiful, and about to flower.

Plants that are not growing well

• Pumpkins: My pumpkins are spreading and growing well – a bunch of male flowers. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any fruiting or female flowers. We are hoping for a female flower soon. Fingers crossed.

• Melons: They sprouted and a bird ate the seedlings I think. They were going after my corn for a while – but the scarecrow did it’s job.

• Cucumbers: One cucumber plant grew and seemed to die? And the other plant doesn’t look super healthy but it is also flowering and growing. So I have no idea. Any advice would be appreciated. Maybe cucumber wilt from cucumber striped beetles?

• Geraniums and Marigolds: I think all the rain stunted them. They never seemed to grow much after I planted them. A lot of the flowers have been falling apart and then regrowing. Unfortunately, just not any growth.

• Rhubarb: It has completely died. I have no idea why. I want to look into it, but I haven’t had time. So weird. In the Midwest rhubarb grows well without any assistance usually. So I have no idea why.

Plants that I don’t know how they are doing (Underground)

• Beets: They seem to be doing well! I didn’t space them properly, but the stem appears to be growing well.

• Onions: I honestly feel like they aren’t growing well? I am not sure. I pulled one and it was still small. I have no idea honestly.

• Carrots: They seem to be doing the best out of the 3 underground? Mostly because the greens are getting nice and thick. Too be determined I guess.

Things I would do differently

1. I would space my tomato trellises a bit closer. I didn’t need as much room as I thought I did.
2. We will put the sunflowers farther away from our apple trees. We thing they are attracting aphids to the apple trees. Apparently sunflowers are known for attracting aphids.
3. Line my corn differently. Create more rows that are shorter.
4. Have my squash line the fence or grow them vertically. They are taking over the garden and are THRIVING on the fence line.
5. Try to space my carrots and beets better.
6. Put the geraniums and marigolds on the outer perimeter of the garden. They need more space and don’t want to be covered as much.

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