2019 Stephi Gardens Holiday Gift Ideas

This has been a very hectic December at my house. Are you as behind in Christmas shopping and preparations as I am? Here’s some (slightly late) holiday gift giving ideas from things I love!

Friends: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission for each sale. All reviews are my own and are not influenced by any compensation I may receive.

Gardening:

Titan A-Frame Trellis: I’ve always grown cucumbers on trellises, but this year I tried it for my summer squash and zucchini. It didn’t look like the Pinterest squash trellises, but it saved space and was super convenient. The trellis was pretty easy to put together, and Gardener’s Supply Company has a nice video to show how to assemble it. It’s made of plastic, so won’t rust but is plenty strong enough to hold zucchini and squash. It’d work great for any climbing vegetables!

Mini Greenhouse: I start a number of my vegetables inside the house in the spring, and before they can go in the ground they need to spend some time outdoors to harden off. With our unpredictable Midwestern weather, that can be tricky to do. I don’t know what I’d do without my Gardman 4-Tier Mini Greenhouse. It’s super handy to keep the most tender of vegetables and annuals safe from cool spring nights until it’s planting time. As a bonus, it’s a handy place to grow microgreens.

Gardman Mini greenhouse

Grow Bags: In addition to raised bed gardening, another way to add space and grow really healthy vegetables is in grow bags. I’ve had mine from Gardeners Supply Company for years and have grown carrots, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes in them. Their BPA-free fabric is really strong, yet allows for breathing and “root pruning”. No root bound plants in these bags! I’m adding more to my garden this year!

My grow bags full of carrots

Stratus Rain Gauge: I was forever trying to figure out how much rain we got during a storm, or how little during a drought. And not in general, like somewhere in the greater Chicago area, or at one of the airports, but in my backyard. It’s a huge help to know how much to water the garden, and to satisfy my curiosity. You can read more about my rain measuring adventures in a previous post, “How Much Rain Did We Get?“. If you want to get super nerdy, I actually found a handy plastic ruler for measuring snow in tenths of inches. Much easier than converting all the time 🙂

Stratus rain gauge

Of course, gift cards to any local garden center or catalog seed company are always appreciated! Some to consider are Burpee, Botanical Interests, and Territorial Seeds.

Reading

I love to read! This year so far I’ve read 41 books. On the right sidebar of my blog you can see the latest books I’ve read and would recommend. I do read “bad” books, but don’t worry, I leave them off.

You can also find me on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/stephigardens. Friend me, I love to see what everyone else is reading!

What were some of my favorites this year? Top spot would be Dan Egan’s The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. Anyone who grew up near the Great Lakes will appreciate this journalists very readable history of man’s influence on the Great Lakes. I spent most of the book shaking my head in disbelief over the things that we’ve done to the lakes, but remain hopeful about the amazing resiliency of the Lakes to remain viable. From the building of the canals, St. Lawrence Seaway, lampreys, salmon, zebra mussels, asian carp, water levels, it’s all there. Much food for thought!

I also throughly enjoyed reading:

What were your favorite books of the year?

Cooking

FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer: I have no idea what took me so long to get one of these amazing kitchen gadgets. My friend was telling me about hers and I knew I needed one. I’ve been vacuum sealing meat, fresh vegetables, soups, and even banana bread (ok, that took a little practice). I’m so excited to have frozen food that still tastes fresh and be freezer-burn free. Plus, everything fits better in the freezer! I bought the FoodSaver FM2435 Vacuum Sealing System & Starter Kit and I’m thrilled with it.

Souper Cubes: I make a lot of soup and broth and have all kinds of containers for the freezer. I came across these amazing silicone freezing trays that are perfect for freezing soups and broths in perfect portions. No more messy freezer bags full of broth. They also have a clear fitting lid to keep the soups fresh in the freezer and make for easy stacking. Need a new healthy soup cookbook? My latest favorite is Clean Soups: Simple, Nourishing Recipes for Health and Vitality by Rebecca Katz.

I’m really a sucker for kitchen gadgets. Who doesn’t need a…

Be sure to check out my Holiday gift ideas from 2018 for more suggestions, and my Favorite Things page.

Happy Shopping and Happy Holidays!

It’s Garlic Time!

If you’ve followed my blog at all, you know I love to grow garlic. I recently harvested this season’s crop and right now is the perfect time to order your garlic bulbs for fall planting.

While a lot of things in the garden didn’t do well this year, it was a banner year for garlic in my home garden, but unfortunately not so much in the Wisconsin garden. I grew two hardneck varieties this year, Purple Glazer and Music, both from Territorial Seeds. Before planting, I replenished the soil with some new garden soil and compost. After a while, soil in raised beds sink and new soil and nutrients need to be added.

Garlic comes in two types, hardneck and softneck. Hardneck varieties require some time in frozen ground, so are not recommended for warmer climates. In the spring, they produce a tall edible stem called a “scape” and are generally known for their stronger taste. Softneck varieties tend to grow in a wider variety of climates, last longer in storage and are good for braiding. They also tend to be a little milder in taste. For whatever reason, I’ve had much better luck with hardneck varieties in my northern Zone 5b garden.

Late spring, the garlic scapes appeared.

Garlic scapes are the garlic flower stalks that twist and turn when young, and end with a terminal pod containing garlic bulbils. It’s these young, tender, twisting and turning scapes that are a delicacy to eat. Removing them also tells the garlic to put its energy into making the garlic bulb and not producing new seeds.

Mid summer, when the lower leaves are starting to turn brown, but the upper level are still green, the garlic is ready to harvest. Harvesting the garlic is easy, but you need to be gentle.  Unlike onions, you can’t just yank it out of the ground.  Too easy to damage the head or accidentally tear off the leaves.  Garlic also cures better when the leaves are still on.

So grab a trowel and dig gently around the bulbs to loosen the soil.  Be careful not to hit the heads and damage the tight cluster of cloves.

Then it’s time to find a spot to cure the garlic so that it’ll be ready to store for the winter.  Garlic should be cured in a protected area, like a garage or porch, out of direct sunlight and where there is reasonable air circulation.  It should be hung with the leaves and roots still attached. Even some dirt is fine.  I hung mine in the screen porch.  On particularly hot days, I turn on the overhead fan to keep the air circulating. After 3-4 weeks, I’ll trim the leaves and roots, and gently clean off the remaining dirt. Then I’ll store it in a cool, dry spot to use all winter.

Now that I’ve harvested this year’s crop, time to plan for next year. I’ve already placed my order for Music and Duganski garlic from Territorial Seeds.

I’ve had really good luck with Music, which is a mid-season porcelain type. It’s one of the larger garlics I’ve grown, has creamy white cloves, a medium hot, true garlic flavor and has a long shelf life. Duganski is similar to the Purple Glazer I grew this year, both being mid-season purple stripe types, but is a bit stronger flavored. I love the beautiful purple cloves that purple stripe types have, but thought I’d try something little different this year.

Garlic doesn’t ship until late September or early October depending on your location, so I have a little bit to wait until they arrive. Good thing because its spot is currently growing a second season of beets and swiss chard.

Want to grow garlic this year? I’d recommend ordering soon for best selection. I’ve had good experiences with garlic from Territorial Seeds, Botanical Interests, and Burpee. Just don’t plant the garlic you buy in the grocery store!

Want more information in growing garlic? Check out some of my other garlic posts or get tips from:

Me checking out the early garlic!

How Are the Burpee 2020 New Varieties Doing Mid-Summer?

Despite the weather and “other issues”, I think it’s turning into a pretty good garden year.

Happy Sweet 16 Daisy! ❤️🐾🐾❤️

I really enjoyed getting the 2020 Burpee New Varieties in May (“Yay, My Burpee Home Garden Plants Have Arrived“), and they are looking fabulous! Definitely loving the summer heat that has finally arrived.

How are they doing?

The sweet peppers have tons of flowers and look healthy and strong. The Yellow Mardi Gras Fun Series F1 Snack Pepper already has a large pepper ready to start changing colors. I can see the first hints of yellow.

The Roulette F1 Sweet Pepper, a “sweet habanero with lots of flavor”, has 2 little peppers and lots of flowers for more to come. I don’t usually use much heat in my food so I’m excited to try these mild, but flavorful peppers. I will definitely find a tasty recipe to use them in! Any suggestions?

The Grand Slam F1 Slicer Tomato, described as a “great slicer tomato, ideal for containers; determinate variety”, is liking the grow bag I planted it in. It’s growing in a nice, tidy compact shape that I would expect from a determinate variety, and has plenty of flowers and green tomatoes. I did put a cage around it for support since it looks like it’ll be a heavy producer.

The days to harvest for this variety is 74 days, so just a little later to ripen than the Early Girl Bush (68 days) that is growing near it. She never disappoints with the first tasty tomatoes of the season. Ready to pick the first one! What should make with it? Maybe it’ll be an ALT (avocado, lettuce and tomato) sandwich so I can savor the freshness.

When I pick what varieties to grow, I do like to stagger the days to maturity a little bit so everything doesn’t arrive at once. But I also like to err on the early side to make the most off the shorter growing season here in the midwest.

I’ve been intrigued by the Redarling F1 Brussel Sprout (reddish purple, flavorful sprouts).

I’ve never grown brussel sprouts before and so far so good. There was a bit of cabbageworm damage on it and the nearby cabbages, but I think it’s ok. I’ve been searching for the little worms to pick off, but haven’t seen them yet. They are sneaky little things. I may have to resort to dusting this year with some Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki, which is one of the safest, natural ways to kill off the caterpillars. I do have this issue every year with the cabbage and kohlrabi, so next year may try some companion planting of thyme and sage to repel the damaging worms.  Who doesn’t like more herbs in their garden?

The only Burpee plant not doing well was the Lemon Drop Squash that the rabbits unfortunately got to. Would love to try it again, but this time behind the safety of a rabbit fence. Who wouldn’t love to have little lemon sized yellow squashes?

So far so good, can’t wait to start tasting them! Hopefully they taste as good as they look.

Here’s some more photos of the birthday pup!

 

It’s July! Time to Celebrate Being One of Burpee Home Gardens Gardeners of the Month

It’s July and it’s my turn to be featured on the Burpee Home Gardens blog and Instagram site as one of their 2019 Monthly Gardeners of the Year. You can see the announcement in my previous post, Burpee Home Garden 2019 Gardeners of the Month-I’m July! Still so exciting! I’ve loved seeing all the other gardener’s experiences and sharing mine. Check out the Burpee HG blog post about me on their website and you can follow them on Instagram at @BurpeeHG. So much gardening fun there! Of course you can also follow me on Instagram at @StephiGardens.

I’ve copied the blog post below, but I encourage you to check out the other monthly gardeners’ write-ups on the Burpee HG website. It’s quite an interesting cross section of gardeners. I’ve enjoyed following them all on Instagram.

******************************************************************

Gardener of the Month: July 2019

Burpee  Edible Gardening Team Members

 The Casual Gardener – @stephigardens

“Casual doesn’t mean not caring!”

July’s Gardener of the Month is a great inspiration to those who don’t always have as much time to spend in the garden as they wish they could. @Stephigardens says she knows her limits as to what she can take care of, so she keeps things on the smaller side. She loves planning and trying new things each year. She also shares what she learns each year through her blog (StephiGardens.com). Her goal is to inspire people to “try new things, explore the amazing outdoors and not worry about doing everything perfectly.”

What inspired you to start gardening?
My mom has probably been my biggest inspiration and resource for all things outdoors. My grandparents and parents always had flowers and vegetables growing in their backyards, and as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved plants and nature. So it was natural that I’d create my own garden space for vegetables, flowers, and as a bonus provide a sanctuary for pollinators and birds. I love sitting on the patio enjoying the flowers, the days’ harvests or watching an array of birds come to the feeders in my suburban backyard. Without my garden, I would be one very unhappy suburbanite.

Describe your garden:
I have a fairly traditional suburban yard and I recently had a friend describe my garden as “a pleasing riot of color and shape”. I grow what brings me joy. I love splashes of color, am fascinated by the textures of plants, and love fresh vegetables. One “rule” is that my garden will always have vegetables and marigolds.

Do you cook? What’s your favorite dish to make with your harvest?
I have always loved to cook. My favorite dishes highlighting my garden harvests are stir-fries, either as a simple vegetable side dish like sautéed radishes with balsamic vinegar or as a main dish with chicken or shrimp with an oriental flair. I go in the garden, see what’s ripe, and stir it up! It’s always different.

Some other favorite recipes:
http://stephigardens.com/cucumbers-mid-summer

This is a freezer slaw recipe I got from a friend when I mentioned I had a lot of cabbage one year. http://stephigardens.com/freezer-slaw

Another is a great Squash or Tomato Au Gratin-perfect for those late summer days when these veggies are abundant. http://stephigardens.com/zucchini-and-squash-mid-summer

Do you have any other hobbies?
Lots of them! I enjoy reading, cooking, traveling and needlepoint (nature prints of course). I’m also an avid outdoors person, enjoying birdwatching (have 203 on my lifetime list), hiking, kayaking and biking.

Favorite veggie?
I love growing garlic. Cucumbers and zucchini come in a close second, but in reality anything fresh from the garden is amazing (except kale, I’ve decided I really don’t like kale).

Any pets?
A Westie named Daisy, who loves green peppers fresh from my garden! https://stephigardens.com/little-white-pepper-thief

If you could describe yourself as a color, what color would you be and why?
Not really a description of myself as a color, but my favorite color is yellow. It reminds me of sunshine and warmth, something missing a lot of the year in the Midwest. I find it really cheerful and have always tried to paint a room yellow in the places I’ve lived, and even had a yellow car. You’ll also find yellow flowers in my garden.

Anything else you’d like to share?
Having a Midwestern garden means a very short growing season. We need to pack a lot into a few months so every day is an exciting adventure outdoors!

At Burpee Home Gardens, we’ve heard from many of our Midwestern gardeners (and others!) that have had a late start to the summer gardening season because of the rain. You can still have a successful July and beyond! If you’re looking for advice or help with your garden or any of your plants, visit us at www.burpeehomegardens.com/GardenHelp/.

Giant Rhubarb and a June Veggie Garden Review

Giant rhubarb!

While the spring has been tough on some plants, others have flourished. Rhubarb is one of the things that has flourished. I have two plantings, my original here at home that I got from my mom, and a second I got from one of her friends when I complained that mine wasn’t very red.

My original plants taste great, but the stalks were more green than red. Apparently there’s many varieties of rhubarb that run from green to red, and green ones will never turn red. So now I have a green variety and red variety! Both are mature plants so I can harvest freely, but I never cut more than 1/2 -2/3 of the stalks and stop around late July to let the plant get ready for fall. What did I do today with my harvest? A 4th of July Strawberry Rhubarb Pie for my daughter and boyfriend who are visiting for the weekend!

How’s everything else doing? Fine would be the word I use, and for gardening that’s not a bad thing. I got my first full salad harvest the other day. The lettuce hasn’t bolted yet due to the cooler weather we’ve had, the Sugar Snap Peas are plentiful and I got my first YOLO Wonder green pepper and Summer Stripe squash.

Everything else is blooming beautifully and I’m looking forward to lots of July harvests.

Sweet Success Burpless and Telegraph Cucumbers are looking excellent climbing their trellises…

…All the tomatoes are looking great. Lots of flowers and green tomatoes just teasing me with their abundance.

I’m growing Husky Cherry Red, a bush type cherry tomato, and indeterminate Yellow Cherry and the larger Juliet Grape tomatoes.

Husky Cherry Red Tomato

Yellow Cherry Tomato

Slicer tomato varieties are Burpee Early Girl, and 2 bush types, Grand Slam F1 Slicer Tomato (a Burpee Home Garden 2020 new variety) and Early Girl Bush. From the looks of it, I’m going to be having a great tomato harvest!

Grand Slam F1 Slicer Tomato
Grand Slam F1 Slicer Tomato

I’m really liking the bush varieties I’m growing. In the past, I’ve grown some slicer tomatoes in grow bags, but since they were indeterminate varieties they became really gangly and hard to deal with. These are nice and compact, great for a patio or porch, and seem to be producing equal to their wilder cousins.

Do I grow roma tomatoes? I used to, but I don’t have the space to grow enough to use for sauce etc, so I leave those to buy at the Farmer’s Market.

What else is growing?

My Burpee Home Garden 2020 new variety Redarling F1 Brussel Sprout, is looking awesome. I hope it begins to “sprout” soon.

Best of the rest…

Is your garden doing “fine”?

A Skunk is not a Chipmunk

I have an ongoing battle with chipmunks. They’re generally cute, but boy can they wreak havoc. They’ve caused the sinking of my front walkway by tunneling underneath, and last year they took a big bite out of every ripe tomato in my garden. We had the walkway raised, and then added rodent proof fencing down about 2 feet. So far so good at that location, but they’ve reappeared the last couple of years and are tunneling under new areas of the walkway.

What to do? I got out my trusty small Havahart animal trap to try and catch a few. After a few days of nothing, I was hoping they had moved on to greener pastures. But around dusk the other night, there was something in the live trap. We thought we had accidentally caught a big fat rabbit, but as we got closer we realized it was a SKUNK. Yikes! We were not expecting that!

havahart

I know we occasionally smell skunk in the area, and we’ve had a couple of skunk vs dog incidents over the years, but hadn’t smelled anything recently.

Getting a slightly closer look, my son noticed that there are not one, but 2 skunks in the cage! That’s a slightly bigger problem for sure! They looked like juveniles and that was confirmed when the mom showed up to make matters worse.

havahart

I know from my mom’s experience a few years back with a brood of skunks in her yard that when they are very young they can’t spray yet. But when that exactly ends is anyone’s guess as her neighbor found out when he tried to capture his little skunk family. The next option is to throw a towel over the cage, block their view so they won’t spray, and get it opened to let them out to be on their merry way. But I had to deal with the mom too.

I needed a different plan. Luckily the only garden tool not in the shed guarded by the skunks was my 3-prong cultivator, aka “cage grabber”.

We made noise and the mom retreated under the shed long enough to grab the cage and drag it away from her. Since the trap was a newer “Easy Set Havahart Trap” I could grab the handle to open the trap without getting very close to it.

Then we waited to see what would happen….

  • Mom was right behind us!
  • Got the babies out and off they ran!
  • Happy Reunion!

Off they went as a happy reunited family of skunks. In the meantime, Daisy is on short leash when she goes out in the evening!

Back From Vacation

May is probably not the best time to take a vacation, but this was a big year in the Stephi Gardens household. My twin boys graduated from college, thankfully, 2 weeks apart! In celebration, we planned a family trip with all three kids, which if you have older kids you know is no small feat. Off to Norway we went, thanks to IcelandAir who had an amazing airfare sale last fall. It was beautiful, and we had a great family time.

  • ‎⁨Nærøyfjord⁩, ⁨Undredal⁩, ⁨Norway⁩
  • Kjosfossen, ‎⁨Myrdal⁩, ⁨Norway⁩
  • Bryggen, Norway
  • Stockfish, cod
  • fiskasuppe

But, in the heart of planting and growing season, my garden couldn’t be left unattended. So in addition to a pet sitter for Daisy, I hired a friend’s daughter to be my garden sitter to be sure everything was going to be ok when I got back. Her family has an amazing backyard garden, so I knew it would be in good hands.

How did everything look? Great, except for a few things the rabbits got at 🙁 The sugar snap peas and radishes have been thrilled with the cool, wet weather we’ve been having.

The Burpee Home Gardens 2020 new plants have been doing really well. All the Mardi Gras Fun Series F1 Snack Peppers are showing flower buds, the Grand Slam F1 Slicer Tomato is flowering and growing nicely in a tomato bag and the Redarling F1 Brussel Sprout is growing tall.

But much to my great disappointment, the Lemon Drop Squash got clipped by a pesky rabbit, who also munched on the kohlrabi leaves for dessert.

I was so looking forward to these little lemon sized squashes. I’ll be looking for them for next year’s garden.

What else is of interest? After not having a great harvest from the leek starter plants last year, I decided to try them from seeds. The American Flag leek seeds (Botanical Interests) are growing like gangbusters and will need to be thinned soon. Luckily, elsewhere in the garden I had some stragglers overwinter from last year’s harvest, so along with garden fresh spinach, I’m making my favorite Shrimp, Leek and Spinach Pasta for dinner tonight.

Are you having dinner from the garden yet?

It’s Peony Week!

I feel like a broken record, but it’s been a weird spring. Things are definitely not blooming at the right time, but when they do they’re gorgeous. Helps to not have the dog days of summer set in yet. One of the stunners in the garden right now are my peonies.

Usually they stagger blooming a couple of weeks apart, but this year it’s all at once making for an explosion of pink.

I’ve never had much luck having blooms last very long in the house.  I usually cut a pretty bloom and within a day, the petals have dropped.  But, I learned a couple of tricks this year.  First, I cut the stem with a bud almost ready to burst into flower, put it into a vase, and by the next morning I had beautiful blooms that last days.  

The second trick I learned was from a Fine Gardening Quick Tip Video on how to save peonies to bloom later on.  I was skeptical, but it actually worked.

Cut your flower bud and wrap them immediately and place in refrigerator.

When you want to have them bloom, take them out of the refrigerator.  I let mine stay in for four days.  It looked pretty wilted and I had my doubts, but I unwrapped it and put it in the vase.

Within a few hours, the leaves started to perk up and by the next morning I had an absolutely stunning flower that went on to bloom for days!

The refrigerated bud is the bright pink bud in the center of the arrangement.

The stunning flower the next day was no worse for the wear and I had beautiful peonies to admire after the ones in the garden were all finished.

(some parts excerpted from a previous post “Peonies” published June 12, 2013)

Guest photo credits:  first four are Photos by Steve

Yay! My Burpee Home Garden Plants Have Arrived

One of the perks of being named one of Burpee Home Gardens 2019 Gardener’s of the Year is that I was going to receive a box containing some of their 2020 New Varieties. I have been anxiously awaiting its delivery, but glad it didn’t come any sooner than this week. For many of us, spring was really late and they’d be sitting in the house or my mini greenhouse waiting to be planteed.

But yesterday they arrived! I couldn’t have been more excited opening the door to this box of goodies. It’s like Christmas for gardeners 🙂

I’ve never ordered “plant” plants before, so I was curious how they’d arrive. I’ve ordered bare root perennials, but not actual potted plants. They were just fine, healthy and no worse for the wear. Inside the box were 9 plants, each wrapped in their own safe packaging. Again, like Christmas.

My box contained:

These are all some of my favorite vegetables, so very excited and honestly a little nervous, to be gifted this amazing vegetable care package. Can I get them to grow well? What is going to be the year’s garden pest? Can I keep the rabbits and my pup who loves peppers away from the plants (Little White Pepper Thief)? Who knows, that’s the fun!

I put them outside with the rest of the plants last night to get hardened off since for once it wasn’t going to be unseasonably cold overnight. Sooner they’re in the ground, sooner I’ll have my first harvest!

I already had my spots picked out for them and in the ground they went today with my other recent purchases from the local nursery. I actually think it’s going to be the perfect temperature the next few days to allow the plants to get established.

It’s going to be a pepper party in the garden with these colorful Mardi Gras Snack Peppers!

I’m still trying to decide if I need to protect the Lemon Drop Squash from the squash vine borer.

It’s not in the same bed that had the squash vine borer attack last year, but it is kind of close. I have a couple of weeks to think about it, but I think I’ll put some traps out and then use the aluminum foil approach to protect the stem just in case. I have netting, but  squash vine borers spend the winter in the soil near their recently infected plants and that just would trap any adults inside the netting instead of out. I am going to net the squash in the other raised bed where I have the rest of the squash and zucchini plants growing on a trellis.

I’ll keep you posted on the plants progress throughout the summer!

btw, the University of Minnesota Extension is a great resource for SVB infection.

Looking for these plants in your neighborhood? Check out this retailer list from Burpee Home Gardens 

Are you trying anything new this year?

 

(Note: While I received these plants as a gift from Burpee Home Garden, all opinions and reviews are a reflection of my own unbiased experience)

Seedlings on the Move

I’ve been anxiously awaiting Mother’s Day, and not just because I get to be the center of attention, but because it signals the official beginning of the outdoor garden season in my area.

Generally once Mother’s Day passes, I can start planting the warm weather plants without too much fear of a cold snap. Some things like zinnias, I will still wait a couple more weeks to make sure the ground is nice and warm. It finally seems like the vegetable seedlings I started in the house are ready to move outside. The flowers will wait a few more days (Finally Planting Season is Beginning).  About 4 weeks ago I started:

 

Squash, cucumbers and zucchini really don’t like to have their roots disturbed, so they can be finicky when you transplant them. It’s recommended to start them outdoors, but I’ve had good luck growing them in peat pots or other biodegradable pots to give them a head start. After they get nice and strong in the house, I move them to my mini greenhouse for a couple of days, then outdoors in the shade for a couple more. Then, when they’re ready to plant I gently tear the bottom off the pot and plant the whole pot.

I’m super excited to try out my new trellis for the zucchini and squash. I had to move the zucchini and squash because of last year’s squash vine borer attack.  The other vegetable beds don’t have the space to let them grow free on the ground so I’m trying the trellis. 

It was pretty easy to put together, but best as a two-person job. Gardener’s Supply Company has a nice video to show how to assemble it. It’s made of plastic, so won’t rust but seems plenty strong enough to hold zucchini and squash. I’ll let you know as the season progresses.

I got the squash, zucchini and cucumbers in the ground, but had a little incident with some of the zucchini. They hadn’t grown as robustly as the others, and I wasn’t as gentle as I should have been.

I broke the main stem, which is really easy to do if you’re not careful. Sometimes it heals, but it’s iffy. I planted it anyway and will hope for the best. So far it seems to be holding its own.

I usually try to have a backup in the same pot and thin them after they’ve become established in there ground, but in this case it didn’t grow. I also usually grow more plants than I need and hold some in reserve in case there’s an “incident”. If they all grow in the first couple of weeks, wonderful, I have plants to share.  

My “spares” in the greenhouse with my microgreens.

So far so good! A few days later and everything is looking good, even after some cool and stormy weather. Btw, for our small family 2-4 zucchini plants and 4 squash plants provides more than enough for us and some to share.

My sugar snap peas are doing great in this cool weather and starting to climb up the rainbow spiral stakes and pea trellis. I originally had the stakes “out of order”, but the science nerd in me couldn’t let that be. 🌈 I reorganized them, but from the front of the bed they were backwards, oh well, close enough.

rainbow gardener's supply company rainbow stakes

Last but not least, my mouse cucamelon plants are off to a very slow start and still in the house under the grow lights. I hope they get going soon, I’m looking forward to one of latest food trends!