July 2022 Garden Update

It's been a long time since I have given a garden update! I've been back to work full time and it's been difficult to get back into the groove of working and keeping up a website - along with gardening. 

This year, we did a really good job of digging deep with the tiller to break up that clay soil and continuing to remove lots of good size rocks. I could tell the difference when planting how much looser the soil was, and getting more rocks out will help the roots grow. Obvious, the rock problem will always be there, but removing what's there in the spring where we are planting really helps. 

The long wooden pallet trellis that we had used for tomato plant support last year was only good for one year and we burned it at the end of the season. It worked okay, but was not as tall as we would have liked. I didn't want to spend money on new tomato supports, so we looked to what we already had on hand to make a new support setup. We utilized rebar that we inherited when moving into our place, along with string we had and created a nifty tomato trellis. We have taken the time to get the tomato plants wrapped about the strings, and they are really growing tall. We have used some plant twist ties and plant Velcro to help keep the plants on the string. There are lots of green tomatoes growing, and we will see how well this works once there are heavy and ripening. So far, it's working better than expected, which is a wonderful surprise!

The majority of plants were started from last year's seed. Tomatoes, majority of pepper plants and beans were all seeds that I collected from last year's produce and saved over the winter. Cabbage and Brussel Sprout seeds were leftover seeds from last year's purchase from MIgardener. I did purchase celery, some pepper plants and a rosemary plant from local greenhouses.

This year I am growing carrots and beets in containers on my deck, along with basil and chamomile. The chocolate mint and oregano haven taken off like crazy and I can't seem to keep up with picking and drying the leaves. 

The blueberry bushes are actually producing this year, and I really think it's because deer or some other animal have not come in and eaten the berries off. The monk and fake animals seem to really help with keeping the animals out, along with the fencing that was added last year. 

All in all, I am really happy with how the plants are all looking and producing this year. I think really digging down deep with the tiller has really helped. I did add some bags of black dirt and compost, and will add our food scrap compost soon. Every year, we seem to keep getting that clay soil to break down more and become more viable for a successful fall harvest.