Garden 2026

Update 3

Things are moving along nicely in the garden.  I even harvested one veggie!  Here's what it looks like now (April 25-27, 2026)

 

Hubby planted Comfrey - it is outside the garden fence

The Garden

I am looking forward to harvesting some more veggies . . . probably just zucchini . . . for now . . .

 Garden 2026

Recycling

There are lots of ways to garden without spending a lot of money.  One of those ways is to recycle what you already have.  Example:  I bought a new laundry hamper - no longer needed the old hamper. So I took it outside to the garden and filled it full of dirt and planted radish seeds.  So far, so good!

I also had some laundry baskets that I no longer needed.  I lined the inside of the baskets with fabric and filled them with dirt and planted zucchini.  They are doing well!

We had some crates that were originally bought to be used as nests for the chickens.  That didn't work out . . . so I lined them with cardboard, filled with dirt and planted onions!

An old pot that is no longer used in the kitchen can be used to scoop out the dirt from a bag of potting soil.  (April 18, 2026)

A corn stalk was falling over - toilet paper holder to the rescue!  (April 20, 2026)

Lastly, one of the tomato plants was falling over and I didn't have any more tomato cages, so I used an old mop handle and a zip tie.  (April 20, 2026)

Recycling isn't just for bottles and cans - it is for the garden too!

(updated 4/20/26)

Garden 2026

Update - April 8, 2026

Banana Peppers

Beets

Cantaloupe

Corn

Cucumbers

Eggplant

Green Beans

Bell Peppers

Pumpkin

Radish

(nothing yet - just planted 4/4/26)

Strawberries

Watermelon

Onions

Zucchini

Looking good so far . . .

 GARDEN 2026

GETTING EVERYTHING READY

March 20 - Let the planting begin!

 

Recycling:  using old laundry baskets lined with fabric to hold the dirt but allow drainage.  The zucchini plants are in the laundry baskets.

March 21 - planted the marigolds

 

March 21 - also planted the seeds for green beans, watermelon, beets, cantaloupe, pumpkin, corn and cucumber.  And planted bulbs for white onions and yellow onions.  Had a few mint plants from last year that are doing well so I placed them around the garden to help deter bugs in addition to placing the marigolds around the garden.

April 4 - added another raised bin (old laundry hamper) and planted radishes.

Now we wait . . .

 BIG NEWS!!

I am going to be closing my Etsy shop - but first I need to sell the inventory!

Click here:  NeedleLittleLoveByRC

Garden 2025 

I started planting the garden on March 29th and I am still using the "topless" greenhouse - it has really been working out very well for me.  The above photo shows what it looks like today.  Everything is growing like crazy.  This is what is planted:

Corn - 16 plants  (in the ground in the greenhouse area)

Cucumbers - planted numerous seeds in the 2 bins (fenced garden area)

Eggplant - 6 plants in raised wooden planter (in fenced garden area)

Green beans - 16 plants (in the ground in the greenhouse area)

Onions - 7 baskets with lots of bulbs (2 baskets in the greenhouse, 5 in the fenced garden area)

Bell Peppers - 6 plants (in a bin in the greenhouse area)

Pumpkins - bunch of seeds in bin (in a bin in the fenced garden area)

Tomatoes - 18 plants (12 in the ground, 6 in bins) - in the greenhouse area

Watermelon - bunch of seeds in the bin (in fenced garden area)

Marigolds and mint plants in various pots around the greenhouse and fenced garden area (to help deter bugs)

I am using lots of plastic bins this year - mainly so that I can sit on my garden stool instead of bending down or being on the ground.  My hubby drilled holes in the bottom of all the bins and then I loaded them up with a dirt/compost mix.  I am very pleased with how they are working out.

 

On June 1st, I started picking some veggies.  Not much so far, but there are a lot on the plants.  As of today, here is what I have:

5 cucumbers

5 tomatoes

5 green beans

Looking forward to a "fruitful" summer!

 

Garden 2024 

Final Update

The gardening season has ended for me.  All the plants have been pulled up except for the marigolds.  I have started burying compost in the garden and then covering that section with cardboard.  Eventually, the whole garden area will have compost buried in it and cardboard covering it.  Why cardboard?  It helps to keep the weeds down.  When fall arrives and the leaves fall, I will have the raked up leaves scattered on top of the cardboard. 

This section has compost buried in it and the cardboard on top helps me to remember where I buried the compost.

So pretty!

Here's how the garden did this year:

Kale – harvested it 4 times

Red Leaf Lettuce – harvested it 9 times

Romaine – harvested it 7 times

Just a sample of the different lettuces that were picked in a single harvest.  Enjoyed quite a few salads!

Onions – 4 small onions plus a few that were more like scallions or leeks

Corn – 5 small deformed ears (but the chickens loved them)

Cucumbers – 1

Eggplant – none

Green beans – 721 – it was a banner year for green beans!

Bell Peppers – 36

Potatoes – 2 very tiny (not edible)

Pumpkins – none

Tomatoes (beefsteak) – 28

Cherry Tomatoes – 706 – a banner year for cherry tomatoes too!

Watermelon – 2 medium sized and 5 small (the chickens didn’t care!)

I have learned some things along the way:

Corn – plant 4 or 5 rows instead of 2 (I had them planted in 2 rows) – this will make for better pollination

Cucumbers – add nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to soil

Eggplant – put mint planters all around the plants to help deter aphids and ants

Onions – find a better quality of bulbs and plant them a little bit deeper

Bug issues:  I did have a problem with the tomato hornworm but I was able to keep it under control.  I also discovered that bugs don’t like mint plants and I plan to get a lot more to put around the garden.  They will be in planters, otherwise the mint will take over the garden.  I will be researching on how to eliminate aphids and ants so that I don’t have that problem again.  I did have stink bugs on the tomato plants but I was able to keep them under control.  Using the jar filled with soapy water and knocking them into it really worked.  I saw less and less stink bugs and eventually did not see any more.  I also kept any eye out for bug eggs and got rid of any leaves that had them on it.  I put those leaves on the burn pile so that none could survive.  Every day, I walked around the garden to inspect for bugs and the only bugs that beat me were the aphids and ants.  I am determined to win against them!

All in all, I am happy with the veggies I got.  My freezer has green beans, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes to use in the future.  

So, now, I am planning next year’s garden.  I might stick with the veggies that do really well  . . . or not . . .😂