Summer is over and it's back to school for my kids today. We had a great Summer and are excited for a great year. Check back tomorrow for a back to school update :)
In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy a 2023 vegetable garden update.
We have some wins and some losses and learned a lot of along the way. It was so fun to see the kids learn tons of new garden vocabulary this Summer. They were so proud to harvest veggies with us.
Wins: zucchini, okra, kale, lettuce, herb garden, green peppers, blackberries and keeping bunnies away
Losses: Tomatoes, corn, green beans from seeds and we're still waiting to see how a few things like watermelon and jalapenos turn out. We replaced out first round of tomato plants and are hoping that the new Celebrity tomatoes work out better for us.
We have learned a lot and are working hard on composting to make our soil even better next year. We are always researching - Can we compost this? And checking into the ideal time for harvesting certain veggies. We all look forward to checking on our garden each day. It's been a fun hobby for our whole family to learn together. I took notes in our garden journal and will be editing our garden plans for next year accordingly.
Gardening Highlights:
Many loaves of chocolate zucchini bread
Lots of okra - fried and slice up and frozen for soups this winter
Taco night with lettuce, jalapenos, sweet peppers and green onions from our garden
Bunches and bunches of kale for salads, sides and frozen for soups this winter
Frozen blackberries for lemonade or smoothies
We did about an 8x8 garden this year and I think we'll go a little bigger next year so we can spread things out into sections a little better. We also have a different game plan for keeping out weeds next year.
My favorite flower to see pop up in the garden: an okra flower!
We loved seeing bees buzzing all around our yard!
And Kevin gets a special shout out for watering our garden nearly every day since May. We didn't get a ton of rain so this was key in keeping our veggies alive. Thanks, Kev!
It makes Leo's day when our farmer neighbor is busy working in his fields.
How is your garden doing this Summer?
Good job to all of you! That is quite a haul! Are you planning any fall crops? I have so much to learn about veggie gardening, I would really love to do some raised beds sometime soon in the future.
ReplyDeleteKristen
I really hate to see summer go, but I am so over these high temps! I'm ready for all things fall - especially the weather. However, that doesn't usually happen until the end of October for us! Womp, womp!
ReplyDeleteI hope your kids have the best first day ever!
How exciting to get to cook with things fresh from your own garden! I love that it's a family activity for you all. I had no idea that okra flowers were a thing or that they were so pretty!
I can't your kids are in school already! Is it just me or does that seem especially early this year?!
ReplyDeleteYour garden did amazing this year!! We didn't have a great yield (probably because we didn't water as faithfully as Kevin, haha!). My favorite thing this year was two cantaloupes. Our zucchini was a disappointment. Thank goodness for farmers markets! ;)