As of June 7th, all my seeds/seedlings have been planted. A little late on some of the seeds, but I am not too worried about it. The garden expansion project was more work than expected.

Main garden patch

I made this main gardening area in 2023. This year I am growing more tomato plants because I learned how to can tomatoes, last fall! I needed to expand my garden this year because I wouldn’t be able to fit everything I wanted.

This bed has my cold weather crops, peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, melons, zucchini and summer squash.

• Cold weather crops: Bok Choi, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, arugula, onion, and garlic.
• Peppers: Green Bell Peppers, and Sriracha Peppers
• Tomatoes: 32 tomatoes total. San Marzano, Cherry, Italian Pear, Yellow Pear, Jersey Devil, Big Boys, and Mandarin.

Front yard patches

The front garden’s are very exciting for me! The rows are a patch of popcorn and the other patch is a variety of pumpkins that can grow to be 50-100lbs.

I am one of the blessed few who have a 12ft Skeleton, and his name is Ulysses. I also saw my first great pumpkin last year and I was inspired to give Ulysses his own great pumpkin for this Halloween. Also, since I have never really been successful growing regular pumpkins, I figured doing an XL pumpkin made the most sense.

I plan to plant beans and peas around my corn stalks again this year, so they can climb up the corn stalks.

I used pine mulch around the seeds because I am trying to limit the amount of grass that regrows in these areas.

In the front yard, I also have some 5-gallon buckets with potatoes growing. I have never grown potatoes, but had some sprouting in the pantry and decided to go for it. So far they are doing amazing!

Squash arch

I have all the squash that vine on this squash arch: butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, pumpkins, cucumbers (I know these are technically melons).

Theoretically, I will coax the vining gourds to climb up the arch, so they have room to grow, without needing a lot of garden floor space.

Next weeks post will give a more detailed process on how I made my squash arch, but I will warn you: It was fairly easy and inexpensive.

Herb garden

COMING SOON. The herb garden is still in construction.

I am hoping to plant some chives, lavender, sage, basil, parsley, oregano, peppermint, cilantro and thyme in a spiral pattern surrounded by rocks. Unfortunately, that takes time, which I haven’t had lately.

Comment and tell me about you 2024 gardening plans – Steph

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