Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Green Beans, Strawberries
Nothing beats the taste of home-grown produce. The first time I tasted a cucumber from my garden I was appalled – store-bought cucumbers are flavorless in comparison! Be sure to prep your garden with fertilizer and compost as needed to support the growth of these beautiful fruits. Also, weeds can choke and kill plants, so be sure to keep them away.
Tomatoes – Annual
Plant in May after any danger of frost has passed.
Use plants from your local greenhouse.
Plant horizontally and gently so that the roots are stronger. Lay it flat in the hole and cover the roots with dirt so that the top of the plant can still see the sun. It will grow vertically but the roots will be stronger this way.
Once the plant grows to be two feet high or so, prune the lower branches to help with airflow.
Once the plant has fruit (Late June, early July), pick the tomatoes when they turn orangey and let them ripen in the sunlight in a safe, well-ventilated outdoor area. This way, they don’t burst on the vine. If you let them stay on the vine until they are dark red, they will likely split from too much water and have damage from pests.
Cucumbers and Zucchini – Annual
Plant in May after any danger of frost has passed.
Use bush cucumber and zucchini plants from your local greenhouse. If you use vining plants, make sure to get a strong trellis. We use a cattle panel bent into an upside-down U shape.
Pinch flowers off until the plant is a decent size. I usually wait to let the plants fruit until June. The reason is that the plant is more susceptible to vine borers and other killer bugs until it has enough leafy growth on it to support fruit.
Water as needed – if the ground is dry and it is hot outside.
Sprinkle with Sevin dust as needed when you see lots of bugs on them.
Green Beans – Annual
Plant in May after any danger of frost has passed.
Use seeds, sow them directly in the ground in a row, approx. 2-3 beans every 4 inches or so.
Water thoroughly as soon as the seeds are in the ground. They need extra water during the sprouting process.
There will be multiple harvests, approx. 2-3 depending on how well the plants do.
Water as needed – if the ground is dry and it is hot outside.
Sprinkle with Sevin dust as needed when you see lots of bugs on them.
Strawberries – Perennial
Plant in May after any danger of frost has passed.
If you buy one plant in the first year, it will spread and create daughter plants – giving you more and more strawberries as the years go on. My strawberry plant gave me two itty bitty strawberries last year, and seven larger ones this year. I am excited to see how they go next year!
The main thing is to keep the strawberry patch weeded. Don’t weed during the fruiting season though because it disturbs the plant too much. Make sure to weed in the late summer/fall – while the ground is still soft but before the primary growing season in the spring.
I water my strawberries as needed if there hasn’t been rain in a while. I only water in the spring when they are producing fruit, and they do just fine.
Thanks for your support!
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