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September 2021 - August 2022
September 2021 - August 2022
September 2021
September 2021
Growth & Overview
Growth & Overview
Harvest & PreservationÂ
Harvest & PreservationÂ
October 2021
October 2021
Jacob's Sourdough Bread Artistry Continues!
Harvest & PreservationÂ
Harvest & PreservationÂ
November 2021
November 2021
This season, we added a new skinny, long raised bed in the front of the hill. We added a long arch trellis made with cattle panel along the whole bed.Â
We picked a TON of green tomatoes! (Our indeterminate tomato plants completely took over the large upper bed)
December 2021
December 2021
This winter, we enjoyed making our own pasta (fresh and dry).Â
Jacob made fresh mozzarella this season, learned to distill his own vinegars. Including red wine vinegar and a lot of innovative ones, like banana, rasin, strawberry, blueberry, mango, and many more.
Hydroponics Update
Hydroponics Update
So, we decided to let the aerogarden go wild with the cherry tomatoes. We also wanted to try growing root vegetables in the hydroponic system, but the roots did not have enough room. The basement PVC hydroponic system was made with 2-inch tubing, so we decided to try and give the roots more room by using a 4-inch PVC pipe. This 4-inch system ended up leaking, so it did not last long.Â
We also really like to use our aerogardens to grow bok choy and mini bok choy indoors, to avoid pest pressure. (Shown in the next carousel)
Following the 4-inch PVC system fail, we decided to turn a GreenStalk into a hydroponic system for our year-round indoor lettuce supply.
GreenStalk's Website:
March 2022 - May 2022
March 2022 - May 2022
The garden expansion plans continue, and we are growing lettuce in our outdoor greenstalk, but inside the greenhouse so I can start other types of plants that are more frost tender.
Our obsession with mushrooms is just beginning... First time growing our own mushrooms. We used an easy all-inclusive kit that just needed to be kept hydrated.Â
Building the pergola, planting the new driveway flower boxes, sanding & painting a new outdoor table, & finally painting the wrought iron circular accent I found last year! Our deck is overflowing with plants that want to go in the ground... My parents gave us a giant, waist height garden bed this year that we are hoping to use for brassicas because it came with a bug netting cover.Â
Jacob worked hard getting the pergola (mostly) built. It may look complete, but it is not. We still need to add a roof and a gutter so we can use it as another surface for water collection.
I painted the large antique metal circle red, because we finally came up with a plan of where to hang it.
Once again, our deck is full of plants that need to be planted! We have to build more garden space quickly!
The table and bench look amazing all freshly painted. We also painted the pergola. Still lots to paint, but lots of progress made. :)
June 2022
June 2022
Basil Tea
Radish & Kale Harvest
Carrot Harvest
Berry Harvest
Kale Chips
Garlic Scapes
Ground Cherries
(Aunt Molly's)
These are easiest for me to grow and harvest when they are in a container on my deck. when they are ripe and they fall to the ground, it's very easy to find them!
Ginger
Growing in a storage bin
Herbs & Kale
Water Collection
Water Collection
Adding a water collection barrel with a first flush system to one of our downspouts.Â
Pest Control
Pest Control
Purchased carnivorous plants to help with the fruit fly/fungus gnat problem. Sundew plants are from Etsy, which arrived like this.
We learned it's better to order the substrate along with the plants instead of mixing our own. (It ended up costing us more money in the long run)
Orchard Beginnings & Adding a Berry Area
Orchard Beginnings & Adding a Berry Area
The orchard is going to be in our side yard. The berry area is at the far right side of the garden, we extended the garden fencing to the edge of the hill. We are eventually planning on fully enclosing the berry area with netting.
Planted 2 cherry trees to start our orchard.
Two-tier strawberry bed. Both tiers planted with everbearing strawberries.
Fig Tree
2 Blueberry Bushes
Modest berry harvest. We have wild black raspberries growing all over the backyard hill.
Squash CityÂ
Squash CityÂ
This year, we werent able to get trellising up in time for growing. We added one temporary trellis for our watermelon plant, to see how vertical growing would go. The rest of the plants will trail out of the grow bags.
Main Garden
Main Garden
Eggplant & Tomatoes
Eggplant & Tomatoes
Tomato, Peppers, & Garlic
Tomato, Peppers, & Garlic
Flowering Onion
Beans
Beans
Potatoes
I highly recommend growing potatoes in grow bags... So easy to harvest!Â
Just dump them into a wheelbarrow (or onto a tarp). Once you run your hands through the soil (or sift it) to get the potatoes out, pour the soil back into the bag.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers
None of our cucumber plants made it this year. We planted them in 2 different raised beds, and trellised them. These are the first pictures of them sprouting, but we battled disease AND groundhogs.
(Baby cucumbers along the Left side of both photos)
Full Backyard Photo
Full Backyard Photo
June 8, 2022
July 2022
July 2022
Overview
Overview
Early July
Early July
Mid-July
Mid-July
Late July
Late July
Harvest
Harvest
Growing
Growing
Noodle Beans & Royal Burgundy Beans
Noodle Beans & Royal Burgundy Beans
Eggplants
Eggplants
Casper Eggplant
Long Purple Eggplant
Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Baby Banana Melon
Melons
Melons
Banana Melon Plant
Vertically Growing Moon & Stars WatermelonÂ
Vertically Growing Moon & Stars WatermelonÂ
Baby Moon & Stars Watermelon
Peppers
Peppers
Banana Peppers
Yellow Biquhino
Carolina Reaper
Purple Murasaki
Bell Pepper
5 Color Pepper
Red Burgundy Okra
Red Burgundy Okra
Swiss Chard
Pickling Cucumbers
Thyme
Unripe Wild BlackberriesÂ
Fig Tree
Fig Tree
The Chicago Hardy Fig has more than doubled already!
Flowers
Flowers
Zinnia,
California Giant
Black Pansy
Hibiscus
Groundhog Troubles
Groundhog Troubles
We have been battling a family of groundhogs getting into the garden this year.Â
We tried the sonic noise style repellers, and they continued to dig under the fence. We ended up removing those, (because the noise was annoying and the groundhogs ignored them anyways) lining the wall with rock, and making sure the outer edge of the garden (and all ground within the fence) was covered in landscaping fabric. In addition to taking precautions & reinforcing the fence, we also trapped them and relocated them.Â
They ate our carrot tops numerous times, and we end up not having a carrot harvest this year. They also ate the cucumber plants after we got them established, multiple times.
August
August
Overview
Overview
Beginning of August
Beginning of August
End of August
End of August
Harvest
Harvest
Full Backyard Photo
Full Backyard Photo
August 31, 2022
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