I had a request to share what we’re growing in our garden this year, so here it is! Everything we’ve planted and hope to plant this year in our backyard.
Last year we had some big garden successes: strawberries, zucchini, tomatoes, and putting in a lot of perennial flowers and herbs that my mom gave us from her garden. We have a row of hostas in front of our house now, and a big bed of lilies and phlox in the backyard. We also have oregano and chives that are coming back in our raised beds. Hooray for perennials! Less work and money 🙂
Our Fruit & Veggie Patch This Year
- Bed 1: Tomatoes, zucchini, radishes and greens (we’ll swap the radishes and greens out for beans and more tomatoes after we harvest the early season crops in June)
- Bed 2: Herbs (this is where the perennials are–we need to put another mint plant in as it didn’t come back) and peppers (bell peppers and japalenos this year); we actually have a bit more space here, so thinking on what else to add!
- Bed 3: Strawberries! Entirely strawberries! Our three strawberry plants from last year multiplied into ~a dozen plants and we added four more to fill it in completely. Berries are always one thing we can never have too many of.
- Random corner of our garden enclosure that we grew cantaloupe in last year: Pumpkins
- Side of the house: My mom’s berry patch is overgrowing its limits, so we’ll be digging up the errant raspberry canes and planting them here. She’s not sure if they’re red or black raspberries… gardening for free is always an adventure!
Garden Challenges to Overcome This Year
First, we need some kind of enclosure or cover for the berries. The birds love them too! Last year we used cloches, but they’re not cost-effective or literally effective for an entire bed of berry plants. I’ve been thinking hoops with a soft mesh cover from Gardener’s Supply, but I don’t love the plastic component. There are no wire mesh structures sold that are large enough to cover a 4’x8′ bed though, so I’m not sure what another solution would be?
We’re still fighting the rabbits on all fronts and my dad recommended fox urine (ick) as a deterrent, so we may experiment with that. Last year we tried using our dog’s hair and the rabbits weren’t bothered at all. Maybe they can sense she’s not an intimidating dog…
Bee populations are collapsing here in the US at least–not sure about elsewhere–so we’re trying to make our yard as hospitable as possible for pollinators. We’re planting clover in bare spots in our front yard, I put marigolds in the corners of the raised beds and we’re replanting the mint even though we don’t eat much of it. The bees go crazy for flowering mint. And of course, we don’t have our yard treated ever.
Is it possible to keep bees where we live? Yes, but there are a few difficulties with it. First, bee allergies run in the family and while I’m not allergic, my mom is and I’m not sure if any of the kids are. You also need to get permission from your neighbors to keep either chickens or bees, and I don’t know that all of our neighbors would agree. For now, we work on making our landscape pollinator-friendly.
The Value of Gardening in the Suburbs
I used to have homesteading and farming aspirations. I don’t anymore. I like living in the suburbs and would actually like to live slightly closer to a city (in a more walkable/transit-able location) someday. I like our community, the fact that doctor’s offices/schools/stores/my parents are close by, the safety and the amount of space we have to care for.
But I think that being connected to the patch of land you live on is important, no matter where you live. It’s primally satisfying to grow your own food. It’s important for kids to learn about where their food comes from. It’s nice to know that everything from our garden is organic, and boy does garden fresh produce taste good!
Most gardeners are hobby gardeners (not producing the majority of their own food or selling it) and while the cost savings might not be huge, there is so much more to gardening than money, or than working towards total self-sufficiency.
That being said… I still want chickens someday 😀 Eric is not on board with my chicken farming dreams yet, but I’ll keep working on it.
What’s growing in your garden this year?
xx Claire