Tag: victory garden

Enjoying the Bounty of a Summer Garden

Posted on by Jordank

For many people, there’s nothing like growing your own food. It’s healthy, cost-effective, #sustainable and above all, delicious! And if you followed some of The Organizing Blog’s previous #gardening tips, you’re probably drowning in fresh summer produce right now.

What to do with all of those garden-fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, melons, peaches and other delicacies is the question. If you’re anything like us, you planted with abandon eight to 10 weeks ago, and now must do whatever you can to make the most of that fresh produce.

One way is to share some of that bounty with friends, family and neighbors who don’t have the same amount or variety of produce. Whether they have the space or the ambition to grow their own fresh food or not, nobody is going to turn their nose up at a ripe heirloom tomato.

Another way to take advantage of summer’s bounty is to try a new recipe (or several). Base your meal plan on whatever produce you have in abundance, and you may wind up discovering a dish that you can revisit again even in the off-season.

Speaking of the off-season, there are plenty of ways to keep and store some of that produce for cloudier and colder days. Too many tomatoes? Make and freeze some marinara for a lasagna. Got lots of corn? Cut it off the cob and freeze the kernels in bagged portions for anytime use.

Many summer fruits and vegetables can be processed, portioned and frozen quickly for later use including peaches, plums, watermelon and peppers. Got bumper crop of basil? Make pesto ice cubes and pull one out any time you need to flavor a pasta or meat dish.

Freezing summer produce can make it last up to six months, but if you really want to put things up like the pioneers, try your hand at home canning. It’s simpler than it sounds, and you can make tons of sauces, pickles and jams that you can tap into for months — or give as gifts.

Even if you didn’t grow your own fruits and vegetables this year, don’t let summer’s bounty go to waste. Visit a local farmers market to get some of the freshest, healthiest foods you’ll taste all year. (And get enough to share!)

Plant a Garden for Mom on Mother’s Day

Posted on by Jordank

Mother’s Day coincides with the ideal time to plant a #garden in many areas of the United States, so one good great gift idea is to get some flowers and plant them for a beautiful gift she can enjoy for months, says Life With Less Mess. If Mom is more of a food lover or home chef, plant a vegetable garden with some of her favorite produce items instead, so she has free access to healthy herbs, radishes, lettuce, squash and tomatoes. She will remember the day every time she sees a flower bloom or picks a pepper, making your gift one that keeps on giving. #MothersDay

Gardening Season Has Begun

Posted on by Jordank

An unusually cold and rainy spring has finally given way to warm and sunny weather in most of the country. If you haven’t yet planted your summer #vegetable or #flower #garden, there is no time like the present.

While starting seeds indoors is the #thriftiest option, you’ll likely need to turn to the local garden center for plants that are ready to go into the ground. Now is the perfect time to plant summer-maturing plants such as corn and tomatoes.

All is not lost if you start a little late, Gilmour says. You can plant a couple of weeks late in the season, or choose vegetables, fruits and flowers that thrive and produce late in the growing season.

You’ll need to prepare the soil for whatever plants you pick. Vegetables grow best in rich, crumbly, loam soil, says Family Handyman. Tilling and amending sandy or clay soils with compost, peat, manure and other soil builders can help plants thrive.

After planting, press the soil surrounding your seedling firmly in place and water as needed. You may need to support plants such as tomatoes (which grow too tall to support their own weight) or send out vines (like grapes and beans).

Why do all of this? Because you can often get a much more flavorful and nutritious end product than you’d ever be able to buy at the grocery store at a fraction of the price. We at The Organizing Blog plant a variety of tomatoes every year for that simple fact. Is there anything better than a #homegrown tomato?

If you prefer decorative gardening, a perennial garden only requires a little bit of thinning each year. That said, you’ll want to weed and tend any beds soon, and help new plants get established to fill in any bare spots.

Container gardens, too, are an excellent option for those low on space. To slash the cost of getting started or adding to a container garden, shop the #thrift stores supplied by generous donations to ClothingDonations.org for lightly used pots and window boxes.

Whatever you decide to grow, gardening can be a relaxing and rewarding hobby that requires only a little bit of attention each week. And the time to get started is now!

Tend to Tomatoes Now for Late-Summer Bounty

Posted on by Jordank

Is there anything better — or harder to replicate at the grocery store — than a home-grown garden tomato? Many parts of the country are still too cool to put tomatoes in the ground, but it won’t be just a couple of weeks until seedlings have the sun and warmth they need. For best results, bury seedlings deep to cover their stems and pinch off the “sucker” blossoms that form in the branch crotches of maturing plants, The Spruce says. Give plants plenty of water and sunlight, and in approximately 75 to 90 days, you’ll have a bumper crop to share.

Start Your Garden With Root Vegetables and Greens

Posted on by Jordank

The final frost of the season is now history in most parts of the country, so it’s safe to sow new annuals, perennials and and edible garden. Sow the seeds of cold-tolerant root #vegetables such as carrots and radishes first, alongside fast-sprouting leafy greens such as Swiss Chard and spinach; then move on to hot-weather starter plants such as tomatoes and peppers. If you’re looking for color rather than a meal, snapdragons, alyssum and marigolds can go into your garden and window boxes now, House Beautiful says.