Finally getting some cooler weather this weekend + much-needed rain, and my new blackberries, raspberries, and grapevines showed up just in time! Since we rebuilt the entire garden this year, I had to start over with all of these. Very bittersweet. While I'm sad to have lost 3+ years of growth from the blackberries, raspberries, and grapes I had in my last garden, I'm also really excited for these new ones. 😊 I chose some different varieties this time to hone in on flavor profiles, growth habit, and resilience based on my experience with the other ones. Can't wait to see how these new ones turn out! What did you get up to this weekend?

Here is the link for the YouTube live https://www.youtube.com/live/cEAxN35m7VY?is=CX8xPXnmvdBJfkjF

What's been coming out of your garden? Veggies? Herbs? Flowers? Mostly weeds?? 🫣 Let's see some harvest photos!

Watering is one of the topics I get asked about A LOT. How much? How often? Am I doing this right? Here's the thing: there's no magic number that works for every garden. (𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺!) But there 𝘪𝘴 a simple trick that takes all the guesswork out of it. ✌️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 Stick your finger about two inches into the soil near your plants. (𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 😉) What you feel tells you everything: 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝘆 → you waited too long, water now 𝗗𝗮𝗺𝗽 → you're good, check again tomorrow 𝗦𝗼𝗴𝗴𝘆 → hold off, your soil already has plenty The best time to do this is right before you water AND a few minutes after. Watering, waiting a few minutes for it to soak in, then checking again, shows you whether you actually watered enough. (This is especially helpful if hand-watering.) The top of the soil can look damp and fool you into thinking you're done, while the area where the roots actually live is still dry underneath. ✨ 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗡𝗼 𝗢𝗻𝗲-𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲-𝗙𝗶𝘁𝘀-𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗔𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 A few things change how much water your garden needs: - 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿: Heat speeds up evaporation, so you'll water more in summer and less in spring and fall. - 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲: Bigger plants have bigger root systems and need more water. Brand-new transplants or seedlings have tiny roots, so they need less water overall, even though it feels like they'd need more attention. - 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘃𝘀. 𝗶𝗻-𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 & 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝘀: Pots, grow bags, and towers like a GreenStalk dry out much faster than a raised bed or in-ground garden. Smaller containers have more surface area exposed to heat, so the soil warms up (and dries out) quicker. 🍂 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝗰𝗵 𝗜𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 Mulch is just a layer of material you put on top of your soil to protect it, and it's one of the easiest ways to keep moisture from evaporating so fast. - My personal favorite is straw. It's light in color, so it reflects heat instead of absorbing it, and it breaks down easily, feeding your soil as it goes. When I'm ready to plant a new round, I can either mix the old straw right into the soil to keep decomposing, or just push it aside and plant. - Shredded leaves (run over fallen leaves with a lawnmower) are another great option. They hold in moisture just like straw and break down even faster, adding organic matter to your soil along the way.

It's almost time for the Garden Q&A! Drop your questions below, or just come hang out and listen! Want to learn more about what those are & what we do on them? Check out this post HERE that goes into more detail!