Garden Journal – Spring & Summer 2025
This will be a guidebook—failures, fantasies, and real data—to help prep for fall planting and long-term bed planning.
This year’s gardening approach has been… YOLO. A handful of seeds tossed here and there, seeing what sticks. Honestly, it was necessary. The first tropical storm’s downpour flattened and eroded my first kids’ garden of carrots and lettuce. Though it looked sweet next to the playground (very Pinterest-parent vibes), a hose-length away from the house was wildly impractical.
Takeaway: Proximity matters. Convenience over aesthetics.
Attempt Two: Left side of the house. The automatic sprinkler kept it hydrated, too hydrated, and the nonstop afternoon sun scorched even the fittest plants. Another downpour later, my arugula and lettuce were swept downstream into the grass (still edible!), and the strawberries had to fight tooth and nail.
Soil Issues
When we built the house, mounds of sand were dumped over once-rich farmland soil. In some areas (right side of the backyard), I can dig and find it easily. That’s where my squash and cucumbers live. They’ve flowered but stayed fist-sized, likely due to poor root stability from sandy, sloped soil.
Fix: Rebuild this bed on level ground with richer soil and better drainage.
Nasturtiums
These guys need:Less water and more shade.
Plan: Move them to the front-yard planting cart. Could make a whimsical and edible treat spot for Evelyn. The yellowing leaves tell me they’re getting too much water, so transplanting may rehab them.
Sugar Snap Peas
They’re thriving but have outgrown their support. Heavy rains toppled the top third.
Next Year: Build an arch or trellis at least a foot taller to keep them vertical.
Arugula & Cilantro
Planting willy-nilly has worked great. I love grabbing a few sprigs for sandwiches or potting a full plant to feed the bunny.
Carrots/Garlic
Priority crop for fall. Still researching raised galvanized beds and found a helpful video—their #1 tip: Have a plan.
To-Do:
- Use Dave’s garden notebook to map out existing plantings
- Measure space for standard raised beds
- Test sprinkler reach for optimal placement
Fruit Patch
My strawberries need their own sunny, semi-watered spot.
Plan:
- Transplant strawberries to a new permanent spot
- Add raspberries & grapes (need a trellis)
- Four more raspberry shoots are in the mail, so pick a location soon
Note: Ask—are there any other fruits I should be planting?
Tomatoes
Still intimidated. To be continued…
Green Beans
Plan to grow them like sugar snap peas—use same trellis idea.
Herbs
All are doing well: thyme, cilantro, dill.
Exception: Basil. Possibly needs a shadier home—try relocating it near the nasturtiums.
Goal: Make enough fresh pesto (if I can stomach the price of pine nuts).
That’s a wrap. See you in the fall!
Going On 40 