Tending to Your Farmhouse Garden

Tending to Your Farmhouse Garden

My farmhouse garden is in full force this summer and with all the rain we have had it has grown so tall and strong. Today I’m sharing some tips for tending to your garden to ensure you give it the best chance for becoming beautiful and producing a top yield.

Once your garden is planted you become a full-on caretaker for your little plot of herbs and veggies. Maintaining your garden doesn’t have to be a full-time job if you set yourself up for success. Here are a few things to keep in mind while tending to your garden.

WATERING

The summer heat is always the number one issue for me when it comes to my garden, it gets me every time. I try to really pay attention to plant things that thrive in the hot summer heat here in the South. Full sun markers mean your plant needs 6+ full hours of direct sunlight to thrive and my garden area gets full sun most of the day.

This year I factored in several trips we had planned so I purchased an Automatic Water Timer to attach to our hose and faucet outside near the garden.  I attached a simple oscillating sprinkler to the hose and positioned it in just the right spot so it covers my entire garden for watering. Even when I am home I program it to water every 1-2 days for 10-15 minutes automatically first thing in the morning so my garden is nice and hydrated before the heat of the summer sun gets to it each day. I still monitor the soil moisture and make sure I’m accounting for extra rainy times but overall it makes the watering automatic and frees me up to not worry about forgetting to water the plants each morning.

I also have three little helpers at home that just love giving the garden a good watering, and it makes for a great chore for them to learn more responsibility too.

FERTILIZING

Another thing to keep in mind, especially with certain fruits, vegetables and flowers, is to keep your plants well fertilized. I like to use organic whenever I can for the cleanest garden, but you’ll need to refer to your plant markers and the Home Depot Garden Club as a resource when it comes to each plant specifically. For example, a little fertilizer on your tomato plants can make all the difference to really getting a hearty harvest out of your bushes.

You can also help your garden to grow by adding in some extra flowers to attract more bees. The bees will help to pollinate all the flowering plants in your garden to help ensure those flowers turn into fruits and vegetables. I love to add my flowers in pots so I can move them around to nearby plants like the cucumbers and zucchini, and to fill in holes and blank areas that may be in my garden bed. And, they look beautiful too.  You can also help the flowers along on tomato and pepper plants by giving their blooms a little tap every now and then so the pollen sprinkles below onto the other blooms below.

OTHER TENDING

You will also want to ensure you’re tending to the base of your garden by pulling out any weeds that will inevitably pop up. I also had quite a few little mushrooms growing from the soil in the garden and I was sure to pull those up quickly.

I also had to help stake and support some of my plants as they continued to grow. We added large tomato cages early on, but could also have used a few smaller cages for the cilantro and other herbs that grew tall but needed some extra support. I continue to pull my blueberry pushes away from the sprawling cucumbers that shoot vines and attach to anything they can get ahold of. The tall trellises we used this year looked fantastic and have been a great support for going vertical on many of our plants this year.

You will also have to do your normal garden tending, like pulling off the dead buds of your flowers or plants, and even thinning out some plants if they become too crowded in one area. This will give your garden the best chance to get as much sun as possible and to still produce.

HARVESTING

Now don’t forget the best part to tending your garden, harvesting your bounty of fresh herbs, vegetables + fruits!

 Making sure you know just the right time to pick your cucumbers, berries or tomatoes will ensure they taste the best coming right off the vine. And keeping them well picked will just give your plant more opportunity to grow more for you during the end of the season.

I’d love to know other ways you’re tending to your own garden this season so feel free to share with us at #heirloomedgarden and #HDgardenclub. Stay tuned for my next post when I’ll share some of my favorite garden-to-table recipes and tips for entertaining straight from your Farmhouse Garden.

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