by Texas Homesteader ~
Y’all know I have to have my hands in the dirt. I don’t have any control over it – that’s just something buried into my DNA. But do you wanna know a secret? I don’t really enjoy gardening (I know, REALLY??! gasp!)
But it’s true. I don’t enjoy the planting, weeding, watering, maintenance, etc. But I really love the harvesting and that makes it all worth the toil.
Harvesting fresh veggies from my own garden minutes before supper is healthier than veggies traveling all those miles to get to my supper table. Plus food this fresh just tastes better! And I’ve often said that growing your own food is like printing your own money. Pounds & pounds of fresh, organic produce for just the price of a small packet of heirloom seeds? Yes please!
Wanna see how my garden is doing? C’mon in, I’ll share my April garden update!
I plant my heirloom seeds in repurposed Cardboard Tubes in my ‘Indoor Greenhouse‘ and I planted the seedlings in the garden a few weeks ago. But the weather’s not cooperating. We’re getting waves of cooler weather & it’s much cooler than the seedlings like. Some have withered away, others are just not growing vigorously yet. But warmer weather is coming & I’m expecting an explosion in growth.
Pre-Planning For Less Weeding
I heard of biodegradable weed block and I was intrigued. Weed block that naturally biodegrades over the season and can just be turned into the soil? Yes please! So I’m experimenting with that this year. After the weed block was laid I simply cut an ‘X’ in the paper to plant.
3-Sisters Garden
Native American Indians knew the wisdom of the Three Sisters Garden. The corn grows tall, the pole beans use the corn stalk for support and also stabilize the corn plant from wind & provides nitrogen to help the corn. The squash vines aided by the nitrogen from the beans grow long to cover the soil both protecting it from the hot sun & preserving moisture.
I look forward to seeing all those seedlings grow. Then I’ll once again dream of the bountiful harvest the garden will provide.
April Goodness
On a bright note, my grapevine is bursting forth and I’m hoping to get a great grape harvest this year.
And many of my herbs were planted in my edible landscape. Just because a plant is edible doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful! Lots of those herbs are coming back this year. My sage is growing like gangbusters and blooming beautifully. I’ve got oregano coming back and thyme too. My stevia is even coming back strong.
The blackberries I planted along the fence are blooming and so has the apple tree & wild plums. These blooms are hints of a delicious harvest in a few weeks.
Although my pear tree was finally in full bloom earlier this year, a rogue cold front came barrelling through. Three nights in a row the temps got down into the teens. So I’m guessing I’ll have to wait another year before I’m able to harvest pears. Grrrrrr…
So there’s a quick stroll through my garden. It’s early yet and I’ve had setbacks for sure, but it still promises to provide lots of delicious nutrition for us this year.
What’s growing in your garden? Are you already planting or still in the planning stages?
~TxH~
My Favorite Garden Hacks
- Easy Garden Planning Spreadsheet
- Getting A Jump: Planting An Indoor Greenhouse
- Repurposed Cardboard Seed-Starting Pots
- Low-Cost Vegetable Gardening
- Using Cheap Biodegradable Weed Block
- Easy Compost For A Healthy Garden
- Propping Tender Seedlings
- Cheap (or FREE) Wood Mulch For The Garden
- Homestead Hack: Remember Where You Planted Seeds
- How Vegetable Gardening Can Change Your Life!
- Easy Deep-Soak Watering
- Planting Potatoes In Galvanized Trough
MORE Gardening Posts
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I like to make salsa.
Cassandra – I’ve been trying to contact you to tell you that you’ve won the giveaway! Yesterday I made the announcement on my FB page and sent you an email. When I didn’t hear back I sent you a twitter message. If you still want the seeds, let me know your mailing address & I’ll get them on their way to you. Otherwise I’ll choose another winner if I don’t hear back from you tomorrow. Happy planting! ~TxH~
I love making bruschetta with fresh tomatoes!!
OOh, yes Natalie. Love bruschetta. And fresh garden-fresh tomatoes just makes it better #dontyouthink?? ~TxH~
I make a delicious sauce with tomatoes – great on pasta with fresh basil. Your pear tree comment reminded me of the English proverb: walnuts and pears you plant for your heirs. We planted an asian pear tree and had it for at least 5 years with a harvest of 2 less than tasty pears. The squirrels destroyed most of anything that dare grow. We have relocated to a new state where I’m hoping for a more favorable environment for a successful garden ( less squirrels and rabbits!).
We grow Muscadine Grapes here. They seem to be pretty easy for us to grow. We haven’t had a lot of luck with other varieties. I would like to start more. We have fencing that spans the perimeter of our 15 acres and I would love to fill that fencing with grapevines!
I like to make a tomato and mozzarella salad.
Freshness at its best, huh Kelly? ~TxH~
Salsa, of course, is a favorite, but I like to can whole tomatoes as well. We eat a lot of dishes that call for diced or crushed tomatoes. My home canned always taste so much better.
I’ve purposely over-planted tomatoes this year in hopes of canning some too Pat. I’ve never really canned my tomatoes before, I’m looking forward to having my own when making chili & such! ~TxH~
Seems your garden is doing well! I live in Central Florida so we have many vegetables and herbs growing already. I start my tomatoes indoors and plant them sideways when I place them in the garden for stronger stems. I also have a grape vine started and it seems to be doing really well this year! Thanks for sharing!
Grapevines are so much fun AnnMarie – wine is Concord but it’s not the seedless variety. But it grows like crazy and produces very well. Which kind of grapevine did you plant? ~TxH~