Joyful Gardening

Joyful Gardening Scientist gardener learning to push the season boundaries and sharing tips along the way.

Hardening offAll the plant starts have been evicted 😂 They're outside all night for the first time tonight. I started th...
05/01/2024

Hardening off

All the plant starts have been evicted 😂 They're outside all night for the first time tonight. I started the hardening off process a couple days ago during a particularly rainy day. Then they had a couple hours of direct sun this afternoon. I'll keep increasing the sun exposure throughout the week to help them get ready for transplanting.

I don't personally have time to move them in and out throughout the work week so I start them in the shade and move the trays a few inches towards the sun every morning. This method has worked well for me for the last few years.

Green garlic 🧄 I didn't harvest a bed of garlic last year, so today I replanted it into 3 beds. These are the young garl...
04/14/2024

Green garlic 🧄

I didn't harvest a bed of garlic last year, so today I replanted it into 3 beds. These are the young garlic plants that were too thin to find space for. Luckily, garlic can be eaten at any stage of growth.

Green garlic has a mild taste compared to fully grown garlic bulbs and a shorter shelf life. To preserve this delicious harvest, I cut off the roots, removed the brown leaves, chopped the stems, and put the dark green leaves into the dehydrator. The chopped stems went into the freezer for future recipes. The leaves will be dehydrated and ground into garlic powder.

Herbs are sprouting! So tiny!I'll start tomatoes soon! Spring is just around the corner ☀️😎
03/04/2024

Herbs are sprouting! So tiny!

I'll start tomatoes soon! Spring is just around the corner ☀️😎

Seed starting! I start my garden in waves. Peppers and herbs take a little longer to get going than other plants so they...
02/29/2024

Seed starting! I start my garden in waves. Peppers and herbs take a little longer to get going than other plants so they're up first. Swipe to see some of the varieties I'm growing this year.

A couple of tips:
*Wash your pots and trays - it's quick and reduces disease spread
*Plant seeds only twice as deep as their size
*Label your pots! A lot of plants look very similar when they're small

Spring bulbs are popping up! Flowers are just around the corner
02/29/2024

Spring bulbs are popping up! Flowers are just around the corner

The chickens think it's spring 🌞🌸Send egg recipes 🤣
02/16/2024

The chickens think it's spring 🌞🌸

Send egg recipes 🤣

Blackberry season 🤩 The heat wave is over and the blackberries are ripening faster than we can pick them. Time for cobbl...
08/01/2023

Blackberry season 🤩

The heat wave is over and the blackberries are ripening faster than we can pick them. Time for cobbler and jam. 😋🤤

The kale is thriving in this summer heat ❇️
06/25/2023

The kale is thriving in this summer heat ❇️

Bumping around the garden harvesting beautiful strawberries with my favorite little gardener. 🍓🍓😋 We've never picked thi...
05/09/2023

Bumping around the garden harvesting beautiful strawberries with my favorite little gardener. 🍓🍓😋 We've never picked this many in one go. Don't sleep on perennials. They shine year after year.

These are an everbearing variety from I planted two years ago. They produce from spring to fall and spread less than varieties that only produce once a year so I won't need to thin them as often. Our strawberries share a raised bed with our asparagus (also from ). Two perennials together means the space is very low maintenance and can be harvested from for the majority of the year!

The farm is waking up! Our chickens have started laying again just in time for Easter 🐣🥚🐇We let our birds rest over the ...
04/07/2023

The farm is waking up! Our chickens have started laying again just in time for Easter 🐣🥚🐇

We let our birds rest over the winter so it's always a wonderful surprise when they start laying again. 💕 This typically happens when the blackberry bushes start putting on leaves and the strawberries start blooming. We have warmer days ahead 🥰

Blue Lake FM-1K pole beans saved for next year. ☺️ Seed saving is so satisfying. Beans are easy to save. Let them dry on...
10/21/2022

Blue Lake FM-1K pole beans saved for next year. ☺️ Seed saving is so satisfying.

Beans are easy to save. Let them dry on the plant if possible. If frost prevents this, bring the vines inside and hang to dry. Once dry, pop the beans out of the pods one by one or dump them in a sheet/pillowcase/whatever and gently hit or roll the pods until they break open. After you've collected your beans, stick them in the freezer for at least five days to kill any potential weevils living in your collection. Wait for the container to come to room temperature before opening to prevent any extra moisture from getting inside and hydrating the beans.

What are you saving this year?

Dahlia blooms 💕 makes it difficult to grow dahlias since they can't winter over in the ground. I've been growing them ...
10/17/2022

Dahlia blooms 💕 makes it difficult to grow dahlias since they can't winter over in the ground. I've been growing them as an annual from seed for the last few years. This means it's always a surprise what I'm going to get. These yellow and pink blooms have made me smile all summer. I couldn't say goodbye so I dug up the tubers today. 😊

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