Gardening is the most relaxing, stressful hobby I have. When it comes to planting things I do it all, from fruit to flowers to vegetables.
My favorite things to grow are unusual foods and flowers that require no care at all. That can mean everything from a uniquely shaped classic, like round baby zucchini to a fun color variation like purple potatoes or my favorite, weird crops that no one has ever heard of, like ground cherries and alpine strawberries.
I have 5 acres of land in Central New York, zone 5. We get cold and snowy winters, wet and muddy springs and humid summers. You never know what the weather is going to bring! I have lived in this area my whole life and I don’t know any other way to grow things.
I also have two daughters who spend a lot of time in the garden with me, occasionally helping but mostly looking for worms and switching all plant tags.
My favorite flowers are dandelions, I’ll grow anything for the bees and I’ve never met a caterpillar I didn’t like. I don’t use pesticides and I’ve made peace with losing produce to the wild world.
My favorite food crop is garlic, it can’t be beaten for reliability and adaptability. I’ve literally shoveled snow off a garden bed in order to plant it and it always comes through like a champ!
Check out my Vegetable Garden Page if you’re interested in growing your own veggies
Amanda
Tuesday 18th of October 2022
I'm totally with you. I love growing garlic more than I like eating it. As per usual, don't skimp on soil prep, plant, mulch with mushroom compost, then forget about for 6 + months, and harvest. garlic obsession has infected me with onions growing obsession, I'm addicted here too. On a mission to get local seed savers network so we can have varietal onion saving, they don't last more than a year, so limited varieties in smaller space (I'm only on 1/2 hectare). More than half my vegie growing space is alliums, i may be missing some balance here.... small garlic bulbs I just poke in around apple tree roots and they can do their thing and I can forget about them. I had planted ornamental alliums in a meadow I made, but they are very expensive here. So saw elephant garlic flower, and while it may not be as customisable as the ornamental alliums globemaster & c, they sure pack a good flowering punch and methinks they are high in sugars because bees really like them, and honeybees will take the best forage while our natives seem to be less discerning and or take whats left : (. So planting elephant garlic amongst roses and everywhere really, and again to forget about. May have to lift and divide every few years. Yay here's to garlic and friends
Annie
Thursday 29th of April 2021
My onions are moving overnight too. Some are even in little piles, some tossed aside som are actually upside down with the green part Gould into the hole and roots up. I thought I had a poltergeist and needed a garden exorcism! I put wood ashes on the rows I planted a few days ago and it stopped there so today I put ashes on the ones I planted yesterday. The ashes keep the onion maggot flies from laying their eggs next to the onions. I have never had a problem with them. Thanks for solving this mystery! I wonder what time I need to be in the garden to see the worms in action?
Alecia
Friday 30th of April 2021
I was able to catch my worm culprits just after dark, sneak out without a flashlight and walk carefully so they don't feel you coming. It was too crazy to believe and I had to share it with everyone!