We have the privilege of being part of this amazing garden group for a second year and boy is it a different feeling this year! It is amazing how easily we have been able to apply the information we learned last year to our new garden. I feel much more confident in the planning process and not as overwhelmed.
Like last year, my whole family has joined in on the gardening effort. My son Jaxson is 6 years old, and I can tell he is recognizing when things are ready to harvest, especially the carrots and beets which were always his favorite to pull out of the ground! He was very excited to be able to help with cutting the broccoli just this week! I love the opportunity this garden gives him in learning a valuable skill of growing food, enjoying the sunshine and dirt. He still loves to walk through the garden looking and touching all the plants that we have planted so far this year!
We have been able to take the information we learned from last year’s garden and make several adjustments to our garden this year. One of the biggest changes we made was leaving out our beautiful wildflowers. Although they were so wonderful to look at, we found they became too big, blocking sun and air flow to some of our plants last year. I have also found that I left them in the garden too long and they went to seed. As a result, we have been fighting the growth of random wildflowers in the garden beds! We are trying grow bags for the potatoes this year as well. Fingers crossed they work!
This year, I dipped my toes into companion planting by incorporating lots of marigolds and herbs scattered throughout the entire garden. I hope to continue educating myself on companion planting for future gardens! I love the variety it brings, as well as the possible benefits of controlling pests, which I have found are just as hard to control this year! My chickens, thankfully, are doing their part by chasing down and eating white cabbage moths!
-Mariah Pietrowski
