“Want to pick strawberries?” has lately been one of the first thing Noah says when we get home in the afternoon. We planted a raised bed last year and while we had a pretty good crop even then, this year, we’ve been able to pick a bowl of strawberries almost every day for a few weeks now. Most days they last until dinner or even breakfast the next morning, but some days we (or mostly Noah) just eat them right off the plant. So delicious! I love that we grow food that tastes so much better than what you can find at the grocery store and Noah gets to learn so much from it: where our food comes from, that it has to ripen before we can pick it, that plants are thirsty and need lots of water, that the color (usually) determines when it’s ready to be picked, that we have to be extra gentle with the blooms, etc. He loves his strawberries and I can’t wait for him to see and taste some of the other things we grow.
Here’s what we are growing this year:
Strawberries
When we started out last year we also had two jalapeno plants in this raised bed and while we were able to harvest a few peppers, we decided not to replant them when they died this winter. Now we have one bed for just strawberries and I think it’s perfect. Easy maintenance and no need to keep them under control. We planted two different kinds – one that is supposed to continuously produce fruit all summer long and one that is supposed to have one big crop around June. I thought it was a great idea at the time and we had planned to possibly make some strawberry jelly, but to be honest I’m not sure I could tell you which one is which now. We've had a fantastic crop this year and I'm sad to see the season come to an end.
Tomatoes
We experimented with our first tomato plants when we still lived in Fremont and had a tiny deck. They grew like crazy for a while but eventually got burned by just too much sun (yes, this can happen in the city of Seattle). We continued to practice with tomatoes in containers for a couple of years before we moved them to a raised bed last year. Lesson learned: they thrive on hot summer days but don’t want to be exposed to direct sunlight all day. We found a good spot and planted a few different varieties last year. The one thing we are not very good at is remembering which kinds we like best, so every year we just end up buying different varieties again. I love that they come in so many different shapes, sizes, flavors, and colors so I don’t mind.
We also added a pea plant, radishes, and two pepper plants to the tomato bed this year. After slugs ate our radishes before they even had a chance to grow last year, they are doing pretty good with some help of anti slug stuff this year. I just have no idea how to know when they’re ready to be harvested. Ideas anyone? We’ve already picked some peas but one plant doesn’t seem enough for a full meal, so we have just been snacking them right off the plant. Yum! I don’t have high hopes for the pepper plants, I just don’t think we’re in the right climate, but who knows – maybe global warming will help us out here.
Zucchini & Cucumbers
Our newest addition this year are zucchini and cucumbers. We’re trying to grow them in 5 gallon buckets so we can use a section of our yard we’ve been slowly working on for a while but is neither pretty nor has good soil. Apparently these plants can get a bit out of control and I like knowing that I can just remove the buckets after the season. So far the plants are doing well outside and we have one additional smaller one still inside. We will have to make sure to keep up with watering them, especially since they’re a bit further away from everything else, and I already moved them closer under our pear tree, afraid they’ve been getting a bit too much direct sunlight. Another bonus of using buckets - you can move them around! I can’t wait to make some zucchini bread this fall.
Blueberries
Noah and I both could eat blueberries every day and I love that we’re in the perfect climate for growing them. I get excited every year when they are finally in season. So last year we removed a pretty but much too big hydrangea, added a nice brick wall, and planted two bushes. They were already a couple of years old so we even had some fruit last year. Now one of the bushes is exploding with fresh (but not yet ripe) fruit, while the other one seems to be a bit behind. Just like with the strawberries we chose two different varieties and I haven’t given up on the other one yet. I know Noah and I both can’t wait to pick them; I had to remind him a few times already that we can’t pick them while they’re still green and have to wait for them to turn blue.
Apples & Pears
When we bought our house we already had an apple, pear, and cherry tree on our property. The cherry tree doesn’t really count – it’s old and while it looks pretty in the spring when in full bloom, we have got no more than a handful of cherries from it over the last three years. We even have plans to remove it some day and plant another young fruit tree. The apple and pear tree could probably use some maintenance, but they’ve been producing large amounts of fruit that we love. With another hungry mouth joining our family soon, we’ll probably be making lots of apple and pear sauce again this fall.
I love that over the years we have figured out how to grow some of the plants which allows us to take on the risk of trying some new varieties. This can all be a very frustrating experience when you invest time and money into plants, soil, fertilizer, etc. and watch them sprout, only to have them eaten by slugs within a day or two. Plus, by that time it’s often too late in the season to start over so you have to wait another year to give it another try. Insofar it’s nice to have a few established plants that you can count on.
What are you growing in your own backyard this year?
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