garden-with-squid

[garden-with-squid]

Ok this isn't a bug but I need to share - LOOK at these absolutely minuscule precious little poppies

White pygmy-poppy, Canbya candida, found in Southern California

Photos by keirmorse, mojavedon, and pokemon_master

[garden-with-squid]

4/18/25

Quick update today. I’m so incredibly happy with the small things I’ve harvested lately! I got more compost and plants, so this season is looking very promising.

[garden-with-squid]

April 6

Fertilized the garden today, I’m actually pretty happy with most of it.

Volunteer tomatillo seedlings and a new herb pot with oregano, thyme and basil from a plant sale we happened to pass in Orange. Moved some shallots in there to fill the rest of the space.

Tomato wall is looking good! So is the blueberry bush. The small blueberry has a handful of berries ripening; I should remove them and let the plant grow more but I’m desperate for a taste this season.

Bed 1 is very full, even after pulling a bunch of arugula for a salad last night.

The peas and romaine have taken off thankfully. I cleared the extra dill finally. And the red potatoes in bed 4 are coming along nicely - we tasted some baby potatoes for dinner the other night.

I let the strawberry planter dry out too much, but I still get a few berries. They smell so heavenly.

Bed 3 has a few flowers sprouting. I have no clue what’s growing between the sweet peas - maybe a sapling from a pinecone? I’ll let it grow out a bit, maybe take it to a plant swap one day.

It’s already pretty warm for spring, it’s 80s all week. Also need to pick up more compost and make potting mix. Hope these seedlings make it.

[garden-with-squid]

seed packets!! 🌱🌱🌱 | prints

[garden-with-squid]

3/21/25

It’s finally spring! We made it! I fertilized the garden, harvested more radishes, and ate the first ripe strawberry. Here’s a photo dump to celebrate.

[garden-with-squid]

3/10/25

Got a bunch of work done today - there’s a bit of rain coming this week; and a work project unfortunately fell through but hey that’s more time in the garden 🪴

2 weeks ago, I finally potted up the berry bushes. I mixed old potting soil, compost, ammonium sulfate, and acid mix fertilizer, topped with more compost. Not sure if that mix will actually work; I might just get a bag of acidic soil next year.

I tipped over the compost bin and behold! I haven’t touched it in a long time, and it did smell a bit, but it was perfect after letting it dry a bit.

I sifted out the finished stuff, which felt similar to worm castings - probably from the several dozen grubs living inside - and mixed it with used potting soil. The nursery had a big sale this weekend, so I bought tomatoes (brandy wine, Amish paste [I think], sungold, patio), kale, mini bell pepper, Japanese cucumber, and another ranunculus.

Things are looking pretty ok for the most part. I added 2 small rows of radish and carrot because I don’t like the scatter method much. I’m impatient, but the spring garden is coming around. I ate a radish on avocado toast this morning and it was delicious.

[garden-with-squid]

3/10/25

Got a bunch of work done today - there’s a bit of rain coming this week; and a work project unfortunately fell through but hey that’s more time in the garden 🪴

2 weeks ago, I finally potted up the berry bushes. I mixed old potting soil, compost, ammonium sulfate, and acid mix fertilizer, topped with more compost. Not sure if that mix will actually work; I might just get a bag of acidic soil next year.

I tipped over the compost bin and behold! I haven’t touched it in a long time, and it did smell a bit, but it was perfect after letting it dry a bit.

I sifted out the finished stuff, which felt similar to worm castings - probably from the several dozen grubs living inside - and mixed it with used potting soil. The nursery had a big sale this weekend, so I bought tomatoes (brandy wine, Amish paste [I think], sungold, patio), kale, mini bell pepper, Japanese cucumber, and another ranunculus.

Things are looking pretty ok for the most part. I added 2 small rows of radish and carrot because I don’t like the scatter method much. I’m impatient, but the spring garden is coming around. I ate a radish on avocado toast this morning and it was delicious.

[garden-with-squid]

2/23/25

Heat wave this week, high 70s- low 80s.

A year or two ago, an onion dropped seeds next to bed 1, so I moved some of them to bed 3. I took the rest to a plant swap. . I also planted some sprouted potatoes I forgot about. I think I got them from the food pantry months ago?

Peppers and eggplants are awake in bed 1. Beans and peas have germinated. I’m quite happy with the garlic, radish, and carrots in bed 2. The right side gets more shade so the soil stays moist, I think that’s why it’s working so well.

In bed 3, sowed bachelor button and Diablo cosmos.

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Feel free to print and distribute this image

[garden-with-squid]

2/5/25

After a long break, I’m finally back in the garden. Gardening is relief and resistance, both things I want more of.

A few things survived in my absence, and I just sowed and planted more over the last few days.

Bed 1: snapdragons; alyssum growing back; overwintered bell pepper, jalapeño, and eggplants; sowed 2 Kentucky wonder pole beans and 1 bush bean on trellis; sowed chamomile, oregano, and lemon balm inside trellis.

Bed 3: sowed sweet peas around the bamboo trellis. They’ll outgrow it so fast, but this will do for now.

Bed 2: thriving parsley plant, just harvested about half of it; alyssum growing back; sowed snap peas on trellis; row of romaine and salad bowl lettuce; dragon carrot and crimson giant radish; garlics still growing; carrot and radish seeds on right end germinating; sowed tray of shallot seeds.

Bed 4: snapdragons; sprouted onions saved from the food bank last month; violet and sprinkled ranunculus. So excited for these! Unfortunately I found grubs in the soil, those will cause problems later.

I also planted strawberry and mint in this tower, plus there’s some houseplants and berry bushes on the to-do list.

[garden-with-squid]

Low-Maintenance Gardening

There are so many reasons to choose a low-maintenance garden. Gardening should be a peaceful and fulfilling hobby, not something that adds stress or causes pain. A beautiful, bountiful, low-maintenance harvest is possible!

Annual Crops for the Low-Maintenance Garden

These set it and forget it crops have a long season, don't need a lot of babying, and usually get harvested all at once. Many of these can also be grown in raised beds, and some in containers (potatoes grow great in a 5 gallon bucket!!) if that's best for you.

Ideal Annual Crops: These can all go into cold storage for up to 8 months.

Garlic

Onions

Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Winter Squash

Beans

Pretty Good Annual Crops: These need some attention after harvesting for them to last as long as possible.

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts

Cabbage ^^^Refrigerate these 3

Watermelon (Go into cold storage whole and last 2-3 weeks)

Tomatoes (You can grow determinate tomato varieties for a bumper crop that's harvested all at once. Sit tomatoes at room temperature 2-3 days and then process. Freeze, can, make sauce with them, etc.)

Herbs for the Low-Maintenance Garden

Herbs are the ultimate low-maintenance crop. So many options and they don't mind being ignored and can easily be grown in containers.

Ideal Herbs: These herbs are perennials and come back every year with just a little work on your part. All you need to do is prune them down to 5 inches once in the late spring and once around August to keep them growing indefinitely!

Chives

Oregano

Thyme

Rosemary (If you live in hardiness zones 7-10)

Pretty Good Herbs: These are annual herbs so you'll have to plant them each year. Both of these are also favorites of pollinators and beneficial insects!

Basil (put basil sprigs in a glass of water in the kitchen, change the water every few days, and after a while they should root for easy planting)

Cilantro

Fruits for the Low-Maintenance Garden

If you have the space and means to grow fruit trees or shrubs, they're an excellent low-maintenance choice. They bear a crop year after year with a little pruning (prune once or twice a year) and adding some compost or organic matter (once a year).

Ideal Fruits: These have a long storage life and require little processing after harvesting.

Apples

Citrus Fruits

Grapes

Pears

Pretty Good Fruits: These have much shorter storage life.

Berries (Grow a ton of fruit without much coaxing, but highly perishable so need to be eaten or frozen/processed after harvest)

Pawpaws (If you live in hardiness zones 5-9)

Plums

Some Tips for Low-Maintenance Gardening

Spend 15 minutes a day in the garden, whenever possible. This daily visit doesn't have to be spent working, especially if you're lacking energy, time, spoons, etc. It can be spent observing, enjoying, and just being in the garden, which is just as important as the doing!! Notice the changes as the days, weeks, and seasons change. Enjoy the plants, insects, birds, and other critters you've invited into your garden.

Mulch like a motherfucker. After planting, mulch that garden! A good mulching keeps weeds at bay, making less work for you.

Stagger harvest windows. Plan your planting times so you only have one or a few crops coming to harvest at the same time. This also allows for full appreciation and enjoyment of each crop, hopefully without burnout or overwhelm!

Put it on the calendar. Write down planting, harvesting, and pruning windows for each crop.

Most importantly, BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF. Gardening, even a low-maintenance garden, is hard! You will lose plants. You will lose crops. You will make mistakes and have failures. You weren't able to get to the garden and all your sprouts died? That's totally okay and you can always start them again! You weren't able to harvest in time and the birds got all your berries? You're welcome, birds! Do your best, do what you're able, and you're doing amazing!!💖

Source

[garden-with-squid]

8/13/24

It’s not so bad here now. The pumpkin is growing back new leaves.

The seedlings from 7/6:

And a new tray of fall crops sowed 8/7

On 8/1, after my squirrel rage, the sweetest lady in my garden group gave me turmeric, butterfly pea (!!!) and a few other odds and ends from her garden. Her tiny backyard was packed with beds and pots; her compost bin was so healthy, and she offered me to come back and dig some up. Bless her.

I fertilized the plants again. Tomatillos are flowering; cucumber is finally making good growth with more hand watering; I’m planning for a better fall garden. It’s not so hot right now so I can think straight.

[garden-with-squid]

8/1/24

As I wrote this post, I discovered that my pumpkin plant was completely eaten by a squirrel and it sent me into a blind rage. Please be advised that the following post is mostly negative in tone.

I haven’t updated in a while, so here are the highlights to accentuate the positive:

The jasmine is blooming again

Cooked up some Japanese eggplant into a stir fry, I thought it was good (Michael thinks eggplant tastes like a shoe)

The kitchen basil plants are doing pretty good, growing offshoots.

Very bad news: the pumpkin plant has been COMPLETELY eaten. It was making good progress so I uncovered it and sprinkled chili powder (that was literally two days ago!) - did not work at ALL. There’s one REALLY big squirrel that’s been wreaking havoc on everything that’s not covered with netting or plastic. Goddammit. It was doing so well too. Wow I just checked it now and that REALLY pisses me off.

I could just keep things netted and caged off but it’s so hard to get into the garden and I hate looking at haphazard nets, and some plants need insects to pollinate. What the actual fuck do I do.

I am 100% on board with squirrel murder now. I swear to god if Michael ever gets that fat fuck, I’ll set up a grave just so I can dance on it.

I have been pretty discouraged this year - last years harvests were much better. No peppers and maybe a handful of cherry tomatoes. I’m still not watering and fertilizing enough. And I’ve finally had it with these goddamn squirrels. So spring was pretty alright this year but summer’s been a wash.

I should just say fuck summer and focus intensely on the fall garden at this point. Cover crop everything, cover everything in compost, pull out everything that I hate and cut my losses.

I have this weird hesitation around buying plants from the nursery. It feels like cheating, like I should start everything from seed or keep plants alive all season. Plus it’s expensive. But gardens I see online stay lush because they’re constantly sowing, growing, or replacing plants throughout the season, and I can’t expect some plants to look fresh and young forever.

I got some extra cash so I went to the Armstrong and bought myself some plants - lavender, another tomatillo, zinnias and cosmos. Michael asked for rosemary and snake plants, so we have those inside now.

How am I this bad at this??? Like, I actually feel like I’m doing a TERRIBLE job. Like the results I want demand way more effort than I provide. Like everything is TRYING to die. I feel like it’s all my own fault for not doing everything right. I really fucking hate summer now - friendship ended with summer, now spring is my best friend.

Maybe summer should be my off season - focus mostly on spring, just keep a few key plants that I want to harvest for summer, and cover crop everything else because this is so much bullshit to deal with. Spring and fall were significantly easier to deal with here. I am so pissed. Hate hate pain rage bloodlust rage

[garden-with-squid]

7/5/24

Treated myself with a trip to the nursery! I replaced the cucumber plant in bed 1 - the soil was extremely dry so the paper pot didn't break down. I'm going to hand water daily until it's established.

I also planted a Roma tomato in bed 4. It shouldn't take too much space as a determinate tomato, and it might help shade the cosmos.

Sowed Cinderalla pumpkin seeds in bed 2, which was not quite as dry as bed 1. Maybe I can add green bean. sunflower, and marigold seeds to the mix. Need African marigold for Dia de los Muertos.

I think I need to fill the ollas every one or two days. There's a heat wave currently with some deserts reaching 110+, and here it's usually around 85-90, peaking around 95.

Currently, I sleep in til 7:30 or 8:00 (how times change), skip the morning walk because it's too hot for a senior like Molly, take it easy in the hot afternoon, and do chores/work after it cools off. It's weird taking a break in the middle of the day but I'm honoring the season and my body's needs.

[garden-with-squid]

7/4/24

Bad news: I think bed 3 has grubs because growth is completely stunted. When I pulled an okra plant, the feeder roots are all chomped off.

Good news: Despite their small size, the sunflowers are blooming and they’re beautiful.

Bad news: Lost the cucumber plant to the heatwave and I have no more seeds left.

Good news: I’ve mostly fixed the dust mite problem on the eggplants, added a shade cloth, and the edamame plants even set some teeny tiny pods.

Bad news: Tomatillos are dead

Good news: 2-3 volunteer tomatillos in the same container

More good news: bed 4 is doing quite well, and the grow bag tomatoes are growing quickly. Turns out when you have enough water and some shade, plants can be grow a fair amount.

We might adopt the chickens at my mom’s house, so we’re finding a good spot for them. I think the best place we have for a coop and run is on the pavement with a deep litter bed. Gravel’s hard to clean and we don’t want to free range them all day. Plus we got coyotes and dogs.

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6/21/24 - Summer Solstice Review

The longest day has come and gone. Happy summer! Long review of the year so far under the cut.

Here’s how the crops are doing so far:

Carrots: pretty decent harvest!

Onions: matured too early - small like pearl onions, but they’re tasty and store well. More fertilizer next time.

Berries: didn’t plant them again this year

Broccoli: so tasty! Can squeeze in a second harvest midway through spring.

Potatoes: small June harvest, more compost and more consistent water. Still tasty.

Marigold/calendula: growing well in the edges of the beds.

Mizuna: great winter/spring green

Edamame: set back by squirrel damage. Now setting pods.

Okra: so teeny tiny. Maybe I sowed them too early, or squirrel/heat damage early on?

Watermelon: also slow to start. Had to resow once or twice.

Tomatillo: poor things. One dead, two sick and nearly dying. Harvested about a dozen fruits. Squirrels LOVE eating the fruit. Perhaps planted too close together in one pot.

Tomatoes: 3 transplanted in the grow bags, could’ve been bigger if I potted up earlier. One big volunteer in bed 4.

Green beans: also lots of squirrel damage. Still cooked up a handful and they were delicious.

Cucumber: failed several times, but finally got a strong one alive in bed 1, hoping it takes off soon.

Peppers: some overwintered plants lived. Squirrels like eating the jalapeño leaves. No harvests so far.

Eggplant: spider mite pressure. Japanese eggplant doing ok though and several fruits on the way.

Wow despite how empty the beds are right now, I have grown and harvested many different things.

Not as much rain as last year, but still a good amount. The ollas really helped with keeping consistent moisture. There are some dry spots, but I like it more than irrigation for now.

Lots of bunnies, birds, and bugs in the yard. The dill plants are ladybug nurseries.

I’m also so happy about my flowers this year - I always have fresh cosmos and zinnias for my dad, and two dahlia plants are coming up.

Improvements for next season/year:

These goddamn squirrels. Protect plants by sowing indoors, caging, netting, or sprinkling chili powder.

Use WAY more compost. Still waiting for the local landfill to launch their compost program so I don’t have to drive so far.

Sow more. Just plant more things everywhere, minimize bare soil.

Sow earlier so that plants are mature by summer.

Keep track of fertilizer schedule and fertilize more.

There’s so much room for improvement, but it’s nice to remember how much I’ve learned over the past two years. Life’s been hard the past 6 months so I didn’t work in the garden as much as I would have liked; however, it’s still the best I’ve ever done and I’m grateful for each delicious bite gifted to me.

[garden-with-squid]

6/11/24

Did a bunch of work with the tomatillos today. The biggest cause of damage so far has been the squirrels - they climb around and snap branches as they pull off fruits to eat.

I heavily pruned sick, dead or dying branches (one plant is basically dead already). Added another tomato cage and tied more branches to the supports. Added granular fertilizer and compost. Added a layer of bird netting to slow or discourage the squirrels; they might chew through the net, but it gives us more time to chase them off.

I also took some cuttings inside in hopes of rooting into new plants. Hopefully, the extra support, airflow, nutrients, and netting will give it enough boost to bounce back. Michael’s really hoping for a good harvest and lots of sauce.