I know it is September and I am blogging about August. I can blame it on COVID, right? That one will be an excuse around for a long time right? What happened… why didn’t you get this assignment in? … COVID. Did you finish your job training? … nope… COVID. Laundry not done? COVID. Dinner not prepped? COVID. … See where I’m going with this?

Our garden flourished this year. We expanded it to be larger and add more crops. Because it was right in our backyard And visible from our porch, it was given much more attention…. weeding, pruning. Month 3 was all about sunflowers and harvesting.

We (and by we, I mean my husband) harvest the sunflower seeds. When the flowers are heavy and drooping and a grey stripe is visible on the seeds, we (he) cut down the flower, wipe away the yellow fuzzies (technical term), and pluck out the seeds. The seeds are then soaked in salt water for a couple of hours. Then they are spread out on a baking sheet, seasoned with salt (we use seasoning salt), and then put in the oven at 200 overnight… or about 10 hours. Leave the oven door cracked. After the seeds cool down, you can store them in an air tight container. They make for a tasty snack!

This may have been my favorite gardening season yet! So much zucchini bread, sautéed zucchini, pickles, salsa, corn on the cob, peas, beans!

And we got new chickens!!

I’m not ready for gardening season to be over. We are trying our hand at a fall garden this year. More about that in another post.

Do you garden? How was your year? What is your favorite thing to grow?

We moved our garden from the side yard to our backyard this year. It is bigger and has more plants than in previous years. Most mornings, I grab my coffee and sit on the back porch just taking it all in. The garden is a safe place in the midst of a chaotic world. Things make sense in the garden. I spend time most mornings weeding and pruning and harvesting the fruits of our labor. It is like a treasure hunt every day.

When you have an outdoor garden, you have to be prepared to share with small critters. The squirrels have eaten all the apples from our apple tree. I find random half eaten strawberries throughout the garden, discarded by mischievous chipmunks. The birds and beetles leave their marks as well. I don’t want to hurt the animals, but we do use Neem oil and some solar powered vibrating flowers to try to keep them at bay. We also usually plant a perimeter of castor beans to keep the digging animals away. We tried using the castor bean plants that popped up/ volunteered from last year, but they didn’t grow as well. Next year we will use seeds.

We’ve made zucchini bread and pesto and pickles. I’m able to begin preserving some of our garden bounty. I blanch and freeze green beans and peas. I shred zucchini and freeze it in 2 cup servings… perfect for zucchini bread!

Do you have a garden? Visit a farmer’s market regularly? What’s are you favorite things to grow or buy?

Everywhere we have lived since we got married, my husband and I have attempted some sort of garden. We have had flower gardens and vegetable gardens. We have tried various containers and planters when space was limited. We’ve gotten creative in our planting. We have not always been successful, but we have learned a TON along the way.

Our garden is one of my most favorite things. I look forward to it every year. For the last few years, we have planted on the side of our house. Each year we get a little more serious. For the last couple of years, my husband has dreamed out loud about turning our backyard into a corn field. Keep in mind, we live on just under an acre of land. This year… during a moment of quarantine stir craziness, he said… “I need a project.” We had some trees growing out of control in our backyard. I suggested he put his energy into cutting back the trees. As he did, we realized how much of our yard had been hiding under this mass of trees. As we began to reclaim the yard, we made the decision to move the garden to the back yard (the whole garden… not just a corn field). We almost doubled the size of what we have done in the past.

We spent time in April prepping the soil. We had various burn piles going to get rid of all the tree limbs from the tree project. We rented a tiller and my husband churned up the soil. He added lime and fertilizer. I drew a plan of what I hoped for with the garden, adding a few items we had not tried before. We planted the garden on Mother’s Day Weekend. If you live in Western North Carolina, they say not to do your planting until after Mother’s Day Weekend. I will heed that advice from now on! We thought the cold weather was over, but wouldn’t you know… there was a light frost for the couple of nights after we planted!!! Thankfully, nothing was ruined other than a few basil leaves. I think if we had waited even a few days, we would have given our garden a better start.

Either way… we are one month in and the magic of gardening is evident. I just love it! You start with soil and fertilizer. You put a tiny seed into the ground and within a few days, life shoots forth. I marvel at the amazing imagination of the Lord in how he created each seed so uniquely.

Do you have a garden? What are your tried and true tips?

Do you have a favorite gardening book? I got this one from a friend last year and LOVE IT! I have dog- eared almost every page:

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