Those early, warm days gave most people a kick start on their gardening. However, we had some nasty nights in April with hard frost that wiped out a lot of fruit crops in the area. Looks like the price of cherries, apples, peaches, etc. will be going up this year.
That being said, have you ever thought about growing your own garden? It's easy, fun and rewarding to pick your own vegetables or fruit to use in dishes that you're preparing! It's also cost effective as the price of a tomato plant is much cheaper than supplying your family or household with tomatoes for a few months!
Last year, I did a little research on companion gardening and decided to give it a shot. I'm no expert gardener by any means - more like a novice, but I like to test new things and I enjoy seeing the results.
For example, did you know that tomatoes grow best when they're planted in the same area every year? I had no idea, but I've always planted my tomatoes in approximately the same area each year. This past year, my tomato plants were almost as tall as my 6 foot stockade fence! Also, did you know that tomatoes love garlic, basil and carrots? They do! I tried the garlic and basil last year and had a family member try the carrots. We got amazing tomatoes that were so flavorful it was ridiculous!
I also tried bumping up my cucumber crop last year. I found that they loved the bean plants and the bean plants loved the cucumbers. I got a huge amount of vegetables from both crops. We are still eating homemade, canned pickles, canned green beans and frozen green beans. Bean plants also love celery.
I've tried a few new combinations this year and hope to have even better results. My tomatoes have garlic and basil growing in between them this year. I've also planted the cucumbers and beans together again, but I planted some new stuff this year that I'm keeping my fingers crossed will work out. If it works - I'll be posting another entry around harvest time with my results!
We have a small garden here at Make Your Own as well!
We grow several herbs and different types of flowers right in front of the store. The herbs we harvest all throughout the summer then we dehydrate them in the store and offer them as free samples to our customers.
This year, we're also going to try our hand at growing hops! Hopefully, we'll be able to offer a couple of varieties of fresh hops to our customers in the Fall. The browned spot in the upper right hand corner of the picture below is where we're going to plant our hops.
Currently, we're amending the soil and getting the plants ready for the ground! Have you ever made beer? Check out all of our beer supplies here and let us help you get started!
Well, that's all I have time for today! I hope you've enjoyed this post about gardening and I'd love to hear any results you've had from companion gardening! Just leave a comment below.
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