Grow Your Own! Backyard Garden Tips

White Wonder Cucumber Growing!

2015-07-27T07:30:00.001-07:00

Finally, my white wonder cucumbers are growing. I've been delayed this year with my cucumbers for a number of reasons. First, I started these plants from seed and I ended up planting them a little later than I normally would. Then the turnip plants I had planted in the spring had blocked the sun to the young seedlings, delaying their growth even more.

However, now that I have removed the turnip greens and we've experienced some warmer weather, the cucumbers are taking off!

The plants are starting to grow up my nice trellis that held my Boston pickling cucumbers last year. And this morning I noticed a few baby white wonder cucumbers growing! I'm super excited! How cool is a white cucumber! Hopefully, a lot more our on their way!

First Cherry Tomatoes of the Season!

2015-07-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

It almost feels like Christmas in July! I finally have been able to pick some ripe cherry tomatoes! These small, yet beautiful orange spheres are from my Sun Sugar tomato plants. I was able to pick two ripe tomatoes from both of my plants this morning and there are plenty more to come in the next few weeks!

Cherry tomatoes have always done really well in my garden. Usually, I grow the Husky Red Cherry Tomato and end up with a constant flow of cherry tomatoes from mid-July through September. Although I'm not growing them this year, I am growing three cherry tomatoes plants, which will hopefully give me even more tomatoes!

We have also finally gotten some summer heat here in the northeast, so I'm hoping this will give my cherry tomato plants some added boost. I've been waiting to eat fresh cherry tomatoes for months! I'm glad it's finally that time of year!

Sun Gold Cherry Tomato on the vine.

Small morning harvest of raspberries and cherry tomatoes.

Backyard Raspberries are the Best!

2015-07-20T07:38:00.001-07:00

For about the last week or so, I have been lucky enough to pick a handful a raspberries almost every day from my backyard. The berries couldn't be more delicious! Most days, I end up eating most of the berries before I even get them back to the house!

I'm loving every berry I've grown but was hoping for a lot more this summer. I think I may have to expand my raspberry patch! Below is what I picked on the morning of July 20, 2015. What's even cooler is the third picture below, which is a photograph of the new raspberry flowers blooming! These flowers are on the new canes that have started to grow this year. They'll produce a small crop this fall and then a larger crop next spring. Besides the obvious benefits of having the berries in the fall as well, I'm happy to see the flowers because it means my plants are doing well!

Part of me would love to start my own berry farm one day, or at leas have enough land to grow a year supply of berries! That would be delicious!

A handful of raspberries, out in my garden.

Delicious, ripe red heritage raspberries ready to be picked.

First year raspberry canes flowering for fall crop.

My Beautiful Mint Plant

2015-07-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

Mint is an awesome and easy herb to grow but it can also take over your garden! This is why I plant my mint in containers. It keeps it contained and easy to get too.

Usually my mint will come back every year, even in the container. However, with really cold and snowy winters lately, some of my mint has been killed off. However, this year my spearmint did come back! Although it took its sweet time coming back, I didn't see new growth on it till late May. By that time I had planted a peppermint plant in the same pot.

Now they're growing together in the same pot and it's actually working out pretty well. Not to mention it makes for some nice green foliage in the garden.

I've used the mint to flavor my water recently and to chew on some leaves to help with indigestion.

I could also try drying some and saving it for peppermint tea in the winter!

Raspberries and New Fall Buds!

2015-07-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

My heritage red raspberries are finally starting to ripen! I'm getting a couple of berries every morning. However, they don't make it inside to the kitchen! I tend to eat them first!

I've also had a few berries eaten by birds, a problem I haven't had with my blackberries.

What caught my attention this morning was the beautiful red berries but also the new buds on first year canes! Raspberries will usually produce a small crop of fruit in the fall on first year canes. However, I'm surprise the buds have developed so wary, especially since I'm still harvesting the spring crop. So cool!

New Blueberry Canes!

2015-07-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

This year has been a little disappointing for my blueberry plants. I think it's mostly due to the fact that I hadn't trimmed the plants at all since I bought them a few years ago. However, it looks like the trimming I did this year is going to benefit me next year and years to come.

On my oldest blueberry plant, I noticed new canes growing out of the soil. New canes will produce more blueberries.

This is why trimming blueberries canes are a very important tip for growing blueberries.

Cherry Tomatoes After a Rainstorm

2015-07-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

My cherry tomatoes have taken off! They are huge, spreading out and growing to at least six feet tall. They're taller than me!

There are a bunch of green cherry tomatoes on my plants but they haven't ripen yet. I need some sunny days for that to happen, it's been rainy and cloudy lately.

However, the rain made for some cool pictures this morning.

Mushrooms in the Yard!

2015-06-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

It's always interesting to discover something new growing in your yard. After a very dry May, which resulted in a moderate drought, June has been a little bit wetter. It hasn't eliminated the drought just yet but it has been wet enough for some cool looking mushrooms to start growing in my yard. I came across these mushrooms the other day and couldn't resist taking some pictures. Now, I have no idea what kind they are and whether or not they're poisonous but I'm not eating or even handling them, so no worries there!

There was two different types of mushrooms I came across. One mushroom was brown and growing in the mulch, while the other one was white and growing by the wood pile. Both mushrooms were growing in shaded areas, which makes sense.

Beautiful, Bountiful Berries!

2015-06-18T12:22:00.001-07:00

Growing your own fruit is pretty easy, especially when it comes to growing berries! I'm growing blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. I have three varieties of blueberry plants in containers, two varieties of raspberries and one blackberry plant. I wish I had more space for more plants!

At this point in the season, the berries are all starting to grow. With the growth of the berries also comes the growth of my excitement for their harvest! Homegrown berries are the best tasting berries!

Below are some of the berries growing in my garden as of mid June.

The first photo is of a blackberry!

The second photo is of a developing cluster of fall gold raspberries.

The final photo is of a cluster of blueberries. These are pretty much done growing, just need to turn blue now!

First Signs of Tomatoes!

2015-06-10T12:58:00.001-07:00

The first buds of tomatoes are forming! These formed on one of my three cherry tomato plants! I can't wait for the sweet little tomatoes!

Root Vegetables Growing!

2015-06-06T08:54:00.001-07:00

Finally! A sign that my root vegetables are starting to form! The radishes and turnip have produced lush and beautiful greens but there was no sign of the root vegetable till today.

The purple top turnip starting to grow!

A red radish sticking above the soil line!

The lush rows of radish greens!

What Does a Turnip Flower Look Like?

2015-06-05T10:21:00.002-07:00

What does a turnip flower look like? See the photo below. One of my turnip plants has bolted in my square foot garden this year. I surmise why it happened here.

It has finally flowered and although it looks somewhat like a weed, it's actually pretty cool. The flower is bright yellow with four petals and multiple flowers on the one plant.

Early June Berry Update!

2015-06-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

My Fall Gold raspberries are starting to form! They're coming along much earlier than the heritage red raspberries!

Meanwhile, the heritage red raspberries have begun to flower! Also new growth for next year's crop is very thick! I'll have to thin it out after the berries ripen.

My blackberry plant continues to slowly flower and one of the canes is taller than me! And I'm 5'10!

I also noticed new canes are taking off nicely after a few days of much needed rain. Plants seem to always do better when watered by the sky versus the hose.

White Wonder Cucumber Sprouting!

2015-05-31T12:04:00.001-07:00

Just five days after planting white wonder cucumber seeds, they've already sprouted! I can't wait to try these white cucumbers, they're going to be so unique!

My trellis that I used for my cucumbers last year is still intact, so now all I need is the plants to grow!

The seed packet for white wonder cucumber.

Found Strawberries in the Garden!

2015-05-30T11:43:00.001-07:00

I'm As I was watering some perrenial flowers the other day, I noticed some bright red spots in the garden. To my surprise they were ripe strawberries!

I was a little shocked, I knew the strawberry plants were there and I knew some of them had berries on them but they had grown and ripened so quickly! And to do so in a drought!

It was a pleasant surprise and i immediately picked them, washed them off and enjoyed the amazing juiciness you can only get with a homegrown berry!

Find out why my strawberries are growing randomly in my garden here!

Bolting Turnip is Going to Seed

2015-05-30T08:46:00.001-07:00

It looks like one of my many turnip plants has decided to bolt! No, it's not running away from the confines of my raised bed. This turnip plant has decided to grow really tall and skip producing a turnip in order to flower and produce seeds.

It doesn't happen all the time but plants will do this if they are stressed. Unfortunately, it means I won't get a turnip from this one plant (don't worry I still have plent more!).

When plants start to go to seed (usually when you notice flower buds forming), the plant focuses its energy on the seeds of the next generation. Sometimes, this can be delayed by clipping off the flower buds (you can do this to most herbs) however, it won't help with turnip.

From my research online, turnip usually bolts to seed when it's stressed by one or two things. The first is poor soil. Considering I added healthy compost and soil to my raised garden this year, as well as the fact that other plants are fine, I don't suspect it's the soil.

The other reason is stress due to too many hot days. Bingo! It's actually been a pretty warm May for southern Connecticut, especially after coming off a record cold start to the year! Turnip is a cool weather crop and therefore doesn't do well in the hot weather.

I'm guessing this one plant thought it was just too hot to do the work of producing a turnip and decided to go to seed and let the next generation do the work!

The rest of my turnip should be ready in ages more weeks! I can't wait!

Raspberry Flowers!

2015-05-22T18:32:00.001-07:00

The first of the raspberry flowers have opened up for 2015. I actually noticed one flower on each of my raspberry varieties. The photo below is of the flower on my Fall Gold raspberry plant. This is the first year I'll be getting the golden, yellow berries!

Stages of the Blueberry in Photographs

2015-05-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

The blueberry, its the gorgeous marble of fruit that is loaded with antioxidants and deliciousness! This healthy treat from Mother Nature is considered a superfood but do you know what it looks like before it turns blue?

Below are some photos I took of my blueberry plants in my backyard and the progression from flower to fruit. I think many people underestimate the beautiful bell-shaped flowers of a a blueberry bush. They also don't realize where the actual blueberry starts to form!

If these photos encourage you to grow some of your own superfood, blueberries in your backyard, here's some facts, tips and tricks!

The first photo is of the blueberry bush in bloom. The beautiful bell-shaped flowers look so delicate but are in fact pretty hardy. They form in clusters and will eventually become blueberries. They can also come in various shades of white, blue and even red!

At the next stage, the flowers begin to fall off leaving a small and thin blue base behind. This is in fact the actual blueberry!

Before the berries start to beef up, they look like these green flat stars. It's actually pretty interesting looking!

The final stages, from the green plump berries to the ripe blueberry and it's famous blue/purple color! Photo from Wikipedia commons.

Fall Gold Raspberries Buds!

2015-05-19T19:00:00.001-07:00

I'm getting super excited! For the first time since I bought my Fall Gold raspberry plants, i'm finally seeing some flower buds forming on the plant. This means I'll have the very cool looking gold raspberries this summer! Woo-hoo!

The berries are very similar to the red heritage raspberry, which I am also growing. Both plants will bear fruit and ripen around the same time, providing what I hope to be a beautiful assortment of raspberries! Both varieties are sweet and delicious, excellent for eating fresh. The only difference is the color. Red Heritage raspberries are your traditional bright red, these will be a beautiful yellow, gold color!

Below are pictures of some of the buds forming on my Fall Gold raspberry plants!

and what they should look like at harvest time! This photo is from wikipedia commons

Garden Filling In! 5-18-15

2015-05-18T12:34:00.001-07:00

Finally, after 23 days with no measurable rain here in Connecticut, we got about .33 inches of rain on Saturday morning. Not a lot but enough to give my garden a boost. Add in some sunshine and warm temps on Sunday and my garden is starting to fill in nicely!

I love the way my garden looks!

Radishes all lined up!

Turnip getting bigger!

Kale is getting big!!!

The vegetable garden isn't the only area doing well. My blackberry plant is taking off as well!

Even the flower buds are forming, which will eventually turn into delicious blackberries!

First Harvest of 2015: Kale

2015-05-14T13:26:00.001-07:00

I'm happy to announce that on the afternoon of May 13th 2015 I was able to harvest the first crop out of my vegetable garden! This crop being a few (6) Kale leaves!

Kale is a cool weather crop and can handle colder temperatures, so I planted them in early April this year to try it out. Even after such a terribly cold winter, April and May have turned out to be pretty mild, allowing my garden to take off!

Radishes, kale, Swiss chard and turnip are all growing in my garden right now!

I planted some kale by seed and a few kale plants I bought at the garden center. The larger kale plants are from the garden center and are the ones I harvested from.

In all, I cut six kale leaves from four plants. I didn't want to cut too many because I would like to try sustainable harvesting, which means I cut a few leaves here and there to prolong the harvest and increase the yield!

I ended up putting the kale leaves in a bean salad like dish! It's delicious!

Spring Heat Means Growth!

2015-05-12T13:11:00.001-07:00

Boy have we turned a corner! From a record cold start this year to the now summer temperatures in early May, Mother Nature decided to give us New Englanders a nice break!

This break is also doing my garden well! Below is my turnip plants, which are really starting to establish themselves. I just thinned them out a week ago!

Next are the radishes! One of the fastest growing vegetables you can grow. These were planted using seed tape (which I LOVE so far) and were planted a week ago but should be ready to harvest by the end of the month (only 22 days!)

My Swiss chard is also starting to establish itself and is beginning to look less like a sprout and more like a plant!

Note* all the white petals in the photos are from the Cleveland pear trees that grow in my yard and my neighbors yard. Unfortunately, they're just ornamental and not actual edible fruit trees. I wish they were though!

The Good & Bad of my Strawberries

2015-05-04T11:45:00.001-07:00

I love strawberries! The little red berries are so sweet and delicious, not to mention healthy too! Strawberries are actually one of the first edible plants I tried to grow!

Although it was the first edible plant I tried to grow, I have yet to master growing strawberries. However, I've been lucky in some ways and unlucky in others !

(Above is one of my strawberry plants in bloom - taken 5/4/15)

When I first planted strawberries, I bought a small packet of about 20 plants. They were condensed in a small bucket no larger than six square inches. They were a June bearing strawberry, a classification that I had no idea meant at the time! I planted them in my backyard but they ended up dying by the end of the summer (most likely because there wasn't enough sun light).

Now, here's where the luck kicks in. The following spring, out of no where, strawberry plants began to grow in the garden by the front porch. This was great news because I thought I had lost all my plants, they also seemed to do very well up front, where they got full sun all afternoon.

We let the strawberry plants stay there for a few years and the began to spread like crazy. I would also get a few good strawberries every year! Finally, it was too much and I had to remove them from the front landscape. So I moved them to the south western side of the house and have just left them to grow on their own. See the photos below.

Now the bad luck. I've attempted to transplant them to other areas of the yard but they never seem to take. I also tried to transplant some to a container last summer but they didn't survive the winter.

They're still awesome plants to have and I love seeing the white flowers blossom early in the spring but I wish i could organize them better for a better yield.

Duke Blueberry Plant Flowering!

2015-05-04T09:44:00.001-07:00

Finally some warmth! After a ridiculously cold winter, we may hit 80 degrees along the Connecticut coast today! Wait a moment while I dance around and cheer!

With the warmer temps, everything is in blossom and that even includes my newest blueberry bush!

My Duke Blueberry bush has blossomed. I bought it a few weeks ago to replace a Sunshine Blue blueberry bush that had succumb to the icy cold grip of winter.

It's still a small bush, so there aren't many blossoms on it but I'll take whatever I can get! I can't wait for the rest of my berries to flower and start growing!

Facts, Tips and Tricks to Growing Blueberries

2015-05-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

Want to grow your own superfood? Maybe you needs some tips or tricks to increase berry production on blueberry plants? Or maybe your just curious to how blueberry plants grow! No need to look any further.

Check out my latest article on Hubpages called "Facts, Tips and Tricks to Growing Blueberries"

In this article, I explain some cool facts associated with growing blueberries while also giving some tips and tricks I've picked up over the years. I also share my own experiences growing this superfood. Blueberries are an excellent addition to any container garden, backyard garden or landscape. It's definitely worth growing, especially when it comes time to harvest the delicious berries.

Enjoy the facts, tips and tricks! Hope it leads to your own mini blueberry production in your own backyard!