The year 2024 has likely been the most challenging yet. While the gardening season in 2023 was difficult due to rough weather, 2024 has posed health challenges. I wasn’t even sure if we would have a garden in the spring. Looking back, I think we should have kept our gardening efforts to a minimum. Let’s see some gardening highlights and things we learned this growing season.
Community in bloom
This year, our garden participated in the “Community in Bloom” program. Although our garden did not win any awards, it was a fun experience.
We built a new garden bed specifically for growing flowers. It has replaced our protected raised garden bed, which we have loved for many years. However, as part of simplifying, we now grow flowers instead.
Gardening is not only for food; beauty and enjoyment play a significant role. In our garden, flowers, herbs, and vegetables grow together in a wild and carefree manner.
The edible flowers and herbs are harvested and dehydrated for homegrown herbal teas and culinary herb mixtures.
The year for fruit
The hot and dry summer was ideal for growing fruit. Our three apple trees have produced abundantly as have the cherry trees.
We even wrapped some apples in newspapers to extend their fresh eating season. Those are M360 apples. Find more ways to preserve apples here.
The delicious Mount Royal plums ripened end of September. However, Ivanovka and Pembina Plum took a break this year. We are giving them another year of grace, hoping they will finally produce.
This year, the Somerset grapes are very big and sweet. It’s a treat to grow table grapes in our Zone 3 garden.
Finally, I want to highlight the figs. Figs aren’t hardy in Zone 3, so we grow them in pots. We should have repotted them this year, but they still produced delicious figs. You can read more about growing figs here.
The greenhouse garden
The geodesic dome greenhouse underwent significant repairs this spring, delaying the start of the growing season. We also tried to grow some tomatoes by winter sowing.
We ended up with more green tomatoes than usual. However, the difference between winter sowing and starting tomatoes indoors was not significant—the timing of planting out matters more than the maturity state of the seedling.
The peppers in the Tower Garden thrived remarkably well. We harvested a variety of colorful, sweet, and spicy peppers. Although we generally prefer growing in good organic soil, aeroponics is the best option for cultivating peppers during a short season.
Spinach variety matters
We have often planted overwintering spinach, mainly the Bloomsdale variety, with great success. This year, we started the spinach in mid-March, which is still relatively early, and it has done well. However, as you can see in the picture, the Imperial Green variety went to seed quite early. On the other hand, the Vancouver variety produced beautiful, compact plants with lush leaves and a bigger harvest window.
Cabbage and co
I randomly planted some cabbage family plants between the early spinach rows. It wasn’t part of the plan, but spring was so busy that I was happy to get something in the ground. In my rush, I mixed up all the winter sowing and didn’t even know which plants were which. You know how similar cabbage seedlings can look!
Once the spinach was harvested, broccolini, kohlrabi, kale, and cabbage filled the beds nicely. I can tell you that this is a great way to grow cabbage family plants in a small space. They matured at different times, giving each other room to grow. I also learned that six plants of each type are a good number for two people to enjoy fresh produce. So, I might continue this approach moving forward. I love it when mistakes end up in blessings.
In our overgrown country garden, the red cabbage thrived remarkably well. I learned that healthy cabbage seedlings can withstand even severe weed overgrowth. If you are starting a new garden, grow cabbage.
The country garden
Speaking of weeds, as we mentioned during the summer, our country garden got away from us this season.
We planted a relatively large country garden, which we expanded in the fall of 2023, hoping we would be able to maintain it. However, that expectation was unrealistic, leading to a surge of weeds over the summer. This experience taught us an important lesson: It’s okay not to plant during times of health or life challenges, even though it can be difficult to admit as passionate gardeners.
The harvest wasn’t great. Even the potatoes struggled. The carrots, which I took the time to weed, had a tough time germinating due to the dry spring.
We’ve been working hard to make the most of our cold climate, striving for self-sufficiency and year-round gardening. Now, it feels like the time to take a step back and evaluate our journey.
As we navigate our mid-50s, we focus on improving our health, especially regarding long-standing conditions we may not have fully acknowledged. Although we have always aimed for simplicity, we will strive for it even more. If this resonates with you, we would love to hear about the areas you find most interesting. Please share your objections and suggestions in the comments below.
We invite you to subscribe to Northern Homestead and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest for the latest updates.
I’m learning to navigate my mid-70s and looking to Freedom 75, when my garden will look very different. I’ll still have a garden though 😊
Yeah Freedom 55 became Freedom 75 – Of course only when health allows it. I love hearing and seeing people much older then us still gardening. That’s what I want to do, simple and effective. So glad you are still gardening <3.