Get 1/3 More Out of THIS YEAR’S Garden with this ONE Technique

This is an article on gardening from my friend Kim Deel.  She’s been gardening for more than 30 years and has a lot of wisdom to impart.   I’m putting this article out in June, so you can start to consider what you want to plan in your “Bonus Garden” as Kim calls it before the heat of July.

Bonus Garden

The summer garden has done well, but the intense heat of July has caused many of my plants to wither and die.  I’m looking forward to my mid-summer planting, which is what I call my “Bonus Garden.”  These plants will fill in some of the garden’s empty spaces and extend my growing season before it’s time to plant the fall garden.  The bottom line is- more plants, more food.  Win-win!

Gardening Isn’t One Size-Fits All 

A little about me, I am not a fancy gardener.  I do not own a rototiller, an irrigation system, or any high-tech toys.  I have some make-shift raised beds and I like to grow in flowerpots, plastic totes, and 5-gallon buckets with holes drilled in the bottom.  My garden is not manicured, to say the least.  I work full time outside the home, so, unfortunately, the garden does not get the attention and respect it deserves.   I am sure most uppity gardeners would cringe at my gardening habits, but hey, this is my garden and I try to do the best I can.

My Garden Goal – For Me and You

My goal is to get food on the table, with as little time, money, and hard work as possible.  I don’t like pesticides and I try to do everything as organically and naturally as I can.  I still dread having to physically pick off tomato hornworms and squish nasty squash bugs, but it’s the best way to remove predators without chemicals.  If you are with me on this, please keep reading because my heart’s desire is to help you grow food for your family.

Getting Started

Let’s get started on our Bonus Garden! Pull all weeds from previous summer plantings and supplement your soil with a good quality compost; turn the soil and mix it well, add some organic fertilizer.  I like fish emulsion. A little about fish emulsion, it is not pleasant to spray on your plants, as it smells positively dreadful.  However, the plants love it and it’s organic, so I keep using it.

What to Plant 

In my zone, I have 90 days left until the first frost.   In the next couple of weeks, I will be direct-sowing Kentucky Blue pole green beans, Boston Pickling Cucumbers as well as Straight-neck Yellow Squash and Black Beauty Zucchini. I will also be adding some flowers like Zinnias and Cosmos for beauty and to attract bees. I am deliberately choosing fast-growing plants that range approximately 45-70-ish days to maturity.  Plants do not grow as fast in the fall as in the summer, so it may take a bit longer to harvest.  It is also vital to keep these seeds well-watered to keep them alive during the intense summer heat.  If it is too hot in your area and your ground is like concrete, start seeds in disposable cups or pots and transplant once it gets cooler.  Some say that squash does not like to be transplanted, but I’ve never had a problem.

Garden Zone and First Frost Date

To find your first frost date, search “first frost date” plus your zip code and your date will pop up.  Now search how many days there are from today’s date until your first frost date and this determines how many days left to grow frost-tender plants.  This date is just an estimate, based on past average temperatures, so frost can show up earlier or later, so add that risk factor into your calculations.

Who You Are Matters In Your Gardening!

This is where your unique personality shows up in your garden!  Are you a cautious soul?  If so, then you will want to plant earlier and have a nice buffer to assure you are harvesting before that frost date.  Are you a risk-taker?  If so, you will probably enjoy pushing the season to see if you can produce a harvest before that frost hits.  It’s YOUR garden, choose what makes you happy and comfortable.  Most of all, HAVE FUN and GROW FOOD!

Double Your Tomatoes Easily and For Free!

Next up, I will be pruning the suckers on my cherry tomatoes and rooting them in soil.  I choose cherry tomatoes because they are fast-growing, low-maintenance, and disease-resistant.  This is where gardening gets really fun for me because these plants are free!  These cuttings usually end up in the compost pile!  I like to place the suckers in pots or totes, so I can easily move them into shadier areas, as the intense sun is brutal for tender baby plants.  Once the tomatoes become established, I will transplant into the garden but also save some to grow in flowerpots, as I want to move them indoors when the temperatures dip below freezing to extend our harvesting by a few weeks.

Mid-Summer Herb Gardening

I also enjoy stretching the herb garden season.  A few of my choices include placing cuttings of basil in water to grow roots and then transplant into flowerpots.  I like to divide my chocolate mint into new plantings so that I can bring some inside once it gets cold because my favorite beverage is mint added to my water.    I will start cilantro and dill from seed.  There are many other choices as well, so please research how to extend the life of your favorite herbs, as they are so wonderful to cook with and add to your food storage.

Look Forward to your Fall Garden

I am also working on supplementing my mulch pile with wood chips, yard clippings, and leaves. Mulch is a necessary valuable ingredient in our fall garden.  We will discuss this further in the next article.

What About You?

How many days do you have until your first frost date?  I just learned that I have 76 days.  What do you hope or plan on getting into the ground in the next week or two?  What types of things do you want to learn about gardening?  We’d love to hear.  Share your answers with us in the comments below so that we can all be better prepared.

Together lets Love, Learn, Practice, and Overcome

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