Garden 2025

This year we built a short lattice fence around the garden, after having put cardboard, manure and wood chips on top of the soil. It sure did the job of making it feel more intentional, like a real garden.

I've kept up with weeding for the most part, that with the extra fertility provided last year is paying off in promising plant vigor.

Peas are doing the best they've done, by the beginning of summer we're getting handfuls every day.

We trained them up a trellis I built out of some tall grass stems from last year. The stuff almost feels like bamboo, it's strong and lengthy.

In addition, we've crammed in the following plants in our slightly larger garden area:

• Tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Carrots
• Beets
• Strawberries
• Garlic
• Beans
• Summer Squash
• Butternut Squash (outside the fence)
• Peanuts
• Cabbage

And we're trying to beautify the surrounding area by planting some flowers too

• Bells of Ireland
• Peonies
• Daylilies
• Zinnias
• Borage

So far everything we've planted it at least surviving, if not doing quite well.

This tree made one pear last year.

We're seeing some signs that it's going to be a really heavy fruit year. Maybe it's something in the air.

In 2021 we pruned many trees heavily, which may be the cause of some slowdown the past couple years. By now it may be finally paying off.

Regardless of the cause, we're grateful to see it and hopeful to stock our freezer and pantry and have more than enough to share.

By around mid-August we started getting a lot of white peaches, in large bunches.

As the season progressed we also got to taste some oblong peaches which were large sweet and flavorful. We treasured the season.

All in all, we harvested around 300 lbs of peaches. We tried tracking it but fell behind.

In addition, we had a good harvest of Asian pears. Maybe around 50 pounds.

We ate quite a number, as well as sharing with friends and family. We canned and froze anything we couldn't eat or give away so we can enjoy it in the months to come.

We learned recently about the risks of botulism, which are extremely rare, but is particularly scary due to the lack of scent and taste, and how damaging or life threatening the consequences.

The risk is primarily due to the resilience of botulism spores, which can persist even in boiling temperatures. (though live botulism and the botulism toxin are elliminated within 10 minutes of boiling temperatures)

This is why pressure canning is the only catch-all solution to avoiding risks, because it can raise the temperature beyond boiling temperatures that way.

Water bath on the other hand is effective, as long as the contents contain a high enough sugar and acid content.

Unfortunately we learned after having canned that both asian pears and white peaches contain a lower acid content than their equivalents. Therefore to elliminate risks, you must add acidity (lemon juice works perfectly well).

We got our first harvests from our paw paw trees this year. Around 18 fruits ripened, though we ate and froze maybe half, some being eaten by critters.

The taste is tropical, very fragrant, almost like a strong perfume. When perfectly ripe they are very sweet.

It was a treat, while maybe not my favorite. (the oblong peaches were my favorite this year)

We got a good number of peas, tomatoes, and kale, but otherwise I crammed way to much into my little fenced in area, depite having scaled down. We simply crowded out most things.

At least with our mesh fence, they were untouched by our chicken and other critters this year.

Next year we'll start a cut flower garden, we'll update the progress here.

Garden in late summer- it got a little out of hand

Milkweed blooms

Wild rose

Elder flower