Well, our really cold weather has finally left (hopefully for good). So this weekend I spent a day in the garden planting vegetables. Here are some photos!
This strawberry plant was already in my garden plot from last year. Lucky me 
Here is a picture of my cabbage, cucumber, and beans.
And here are my tiny tomato and pepper plants.
As you can see, vegetable gardening is slow going in Norther Minnesota. I’ll post more pictures within a few weeks and hopefully the plants will all be much bigger!
Last year my garden neighbor had a beautiful garden with flowers, herbs and veggies all mixed together. It got me thinking, and this year I’m doing some research on companion planting.
As it turns out, certain vegetables will do better or worse depending on what plants are growing around it. It makes sense when you think about it. Certain plants take more of different nutrients, or even attract or repel pests.
For instance, basil is a great companion for tomatoes and peppers, as they help improve growth and flavor. Basil is also known to repel flies and mosquitoes (not particularly beneficial for the plants, but nice for us!) Another combination that I’m going to try is planting dill and radishes near my cucumbers. Radishes are supposed to repel cucumber beetles, and dill supposedly helps attract “beneficial predators.” I’m hoping this will work because last year my cukes didn’t fare too well against the pests.
Here are the charts I used from Tinker’s Gardens:
Vegetable Companion Planting Chart
| Plant | Good Companions | Bad Companions |
| Basil | Pepper, Tomato, Marigold | |
| Bush Beans | Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Chard, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Leek, Lettuce, Parsnip, Pea, Potato, Radish, Rosemary, Strawberry, Savory, Sunflower, Tansy, Marigold |
Basil, Fennel, Kohlrabi, Onion |
| Pole Beans | Carrots, Cauliflower, Chard, Corn Cucumber, Eggplant, Lettuce, Marigold, Pea, Potato, Radish, Rosemary, Savory, Strawberry, Tansy |
Basil, Beets, Cabbage, Fennel, Kohlrabi, Onion, Radish, Sunflower |
| Beets | Bush Beans, Cabbage family, Lettuce, Lima Bean, Onion, Radish, Sage |
Mustard, Pole Bean |
| Cabbage Family | Bush Beans, Beets, Carrot, Celery, Cucumber, Dill, Lettuce, Mint, Nasturtium, Onions, Rosemary, Sage, Spinach, Thyme, All Strong Herbs, Marigold, Nasturtium |
Pole Bean, Strawberry, Tomato |
| Carrots | Beans, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Chives, Lettuce, Leek, Onion, Peas, Radish, Rosemary, Sage, Tomato |
Celery, Dill, Parsnip |
| Celery | Almost everything except —> —> —> —> |
Carrot, Parsley, Parsnip |
| Corn | All Beans, Beets, Cabbage, Cantaloupe, Cucumber, Melons, Parsley, Peas, Early Potatoes, Pumpkin, Squash |
Tomato |
| Cucumbers | Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Cabbage family, Corn, Dill, Eggplant, Lettuce, Marigold, Nasturtium, Onions, Peas, Radish, Tomato, Savory, Sunflower, No Strong Herbs |
Potato |
| Eggplant | Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Peas, Peppers, Potato, Spinach |
Fennel |
| Lettuce | Everything, but especially Carrots, Garlic, Onion and Radish |
— none — |
| Melon | Corn, Nasturtium, Radish | Potato |
| Onion | Beets, Cabbage family, Carrots, Celery, Cucumber, Lettuce, Parsnip, Pepper, Spinach, Squash, Strawberries, Tomato, Turnip, Savory |
Asparagus, Beans, Peas, Sage |
| Parsley | Tomato | — none — |
| Peas | Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Carrots, Celery, Chicory, Corn Cucumber, Eggplant, Parsley, Early Potato, Radish, Spinach, Strawberry, Sweet pepper, Turnips |
Onion, Late Potato |
| Potato | Bush bean, Cabbage family, Carrot, Corn, Horseradish, Marigold, Onion, Parsnip, Peas |
Cucumber, Kohlrabi, Parsnip, Pumpkin, Rutabaga, Squash family, Sunflower, Turnip, Fennel, |
| Radish | Beet, Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Carrots, Cucumber, Lettuce, Melons, Nasturtium, Parsnip, Peas, Spinach, Squash family |
Hyssop |
| Spinach | Celeriac, Celery, Corn, Eggplant, Cauliflower |
|
| Squash | Corn, Onion, Radish | |
| Strawberry | Bush Beans, Lettuce, Nasturtium, Onion, Radish, Spinach |
Cabbage, Potato |
| Tomato | Asparagus, Basil, Bean, Cabbage family, Carrots, Celery, Chive, Cucumber, Garlic, Head lettuce, Marigold, Mint, Nasturtium, Onion, Parsley, Pepper, Marigold |
Pole beans, Corn Dill, Fennel, Potato |
Herb Companion Chart
| Herb | Companions | Bad Companions |
Pests Repelled |
| Basil | Tomatoes | Rue | Flies, Mosquitoes |
| Borage | Tomatoes, Squash, Strawberries | Tomato Worm | |
| Caraway | Loosens soil. | Dill | |
| Catnip | Eggplant | Flea Beetle, Ants | |
| Chamomile | Cabbage, Onion | ||
| Coriander | Aphids | ||
| Chervil | Radish | ||
| Chives | Carrots | ||
| Dead Nettle | Potatoes | Potato Bug | |
| Dill | Cabbage | Caraway Carrots | |
| Fennel | Most plants dislike | ||
| Feverfew | Roses | attracts aphids away other plants | |
| Flax | Carrots, Potatoes | Potato Bug | |
| Garlic | Roses, Raspberries | Japanese Beetle, Aphids | |
| Horseradish | Potatoes | Potato Bug | |
| Henbit | Insect Repellent | ||
| Hyssop | Cabbage, Grapes | Radishes | Cabbage Moth |
| Lavender | Southernwood, rosemary, wormwood |
Moths - | |
| Marigolds | Plant everywhere in garden | Mexican Bean Beetles, Nematodes, others |
|
| Mint | Cabbage, Tomatoes | Cabbage Moth, aphids, flea beetles | |
| Nasturtium | Radishes, Cabbage, Cucurbits, fruit trees |
Aphids, Squash Bugs, Striped Pumpkin Beetle |
|
| Pennyroyal | Roses | Flies, Mosquitoes, Fleas, others | |
| Petunia | Beans | ||
| Pot Marigold | Tomatoes | Tomato Worm, Asparagus Beetles, others |
|
| Pyrethrums | Dried flower, repels insects | ||
| Rosemary | Cabbage, Beans Carrots, Sage | Cabbage Moth, Bean Beetle, Carrot Fly | |
| Rue | Roses and Raspberries | Sweet Basil | Japanese Beetles |
| Sage | Rosemary, Cabbage, Carrots | Cucumbers | Cabbage Moth, Carrot Fly, Flea Beetle, Slugs |
| Southernwood | Cabbages | Cabbage Moth | |
| Sow Thistle | Tomatoes, Onion, Corn
Plant sparsely |
||
| Summer Savory | Beans | Bean Beetles | |
| Tansy | Fruit Trees, Roses, Raspberries | Flying Insects, Japanese Beetles, Striped Cucumber Beetles, Squash Bugs, Ants, Flies |
|
| Thyme | Cabbage | Cabbage Worm | |
| Wormwood | Plant as a border to repel animals |
||
| Yarrow | Plant near aromatic herbs, enhance essential oils. |
*Data courtesy of The Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
After a bit of puzzling, here is the chart I devised for my garden. (click to see the larger version)
This is my rough draft, and I may end up changing things a bit as I go. I just put my tomatoes and peppers in the ground on Wednesday, and have also planted some onion sets, lettuce, basil, and bean seeds. Hopefully our cold weather won’t persist for too long so my plants will finally have good growing conditions!
Tags: Companion Planting, Vegetables
I just got done moving into a new house, and wanted to show you what I had done to the gardens in my last house. The landlord was fine with paying for all of my gardening supplies, which is understandable since I was increasing the curb appeal of his home.
Here is a before (more like middle) photo of the back yard garden. There actually wasn’t even a garden there at all when we moved in. I had our landlord come over and cut the branches of that pine tree up to about 4 feet so I could put in a nice shade garden. I framed it and added a bunch of dirt and perennials. I used hostas and a bleeding heart, both of which are shade lovers.
And here is the after photo of the backyard garden. Every plant came back this spring, even though I neglected to cover them last fall. I pulled all the weeds out, added weed liner, and some brown organic mulch. Viola! I think they look pretty nice! It’s just too bad that I won’t be able to live there when they are at their peak. I guess I’ll just have to be a creeper and drive by to look at them.
It’s so nice that even the simplest outdoor landscaping projects like these can make such a big difference in the look and feel of your yard. Putting these gardens in was surprisingly easy, but I think that they really added a lot to the house.
Now that it’s finally warming up here, I’m on to finishing my containers and my vegetable garden! I’ll keep everyone updated!
Tags: Landscaping, Minnesota, Perennials, Photography
Last week was my first time at my new community garden plot. While it’s still a bit too cold to start planting, we went to work installing a new door into the garden and re-installing some fencing. It felt great to get out in the dirt again. Looking for a Community Garden Program near you? Try the ACGA website.
This year will be my second year with the Community Garden program. Last year I was disappointed when the deer got in not once- but twice, and ate everything in sight. This year I have a new plot at a new garden, which has a tall fence and is way nicer! I’m so excited because the soil is wonderful, and the garden is right across the street from where I’m going to be living.
Hopefully my garden will come close to comparing with this one! 
Photo Credit: Cneuman
I learned a lot of lessons last year, and I think this year is going to be much more successful! I’m going to weed my plot really well this year before I plant anything, and I’m also going to add some organic compost a few weeks before planting.
Because I’m in zone 3, I’m going to wait until early June to plant most of my stuff. I’ll probably plant onions and potatoes within the next week or so. I’ve already started my tomatoes and peppers from seed, so hopefully I won’t have to buy any plants this year. I’m also planning on sowing bush beans, romaine lettuce, spinach, zucchini and basil plants from seed. I’m also thinking of trying to grow eggplant this year, but I don’t know much about it. Has anyone grown eggplant before? If so, let me know if you have any tips for me!
I will try to get some pics of my site up sometime soon. I don’t have a camera of my own right now:( Luckily, I have someone who let’s me borrow theirs for the time being, so watch for photos!
There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler
Tags: Minnesota, Vegetables
I recently joined Flickr, and I’ve wasted so much time just browsing through peoples’ albums. I am absolutely amazed at how many incredibly talented photographers are out there!
Having been inspired by these people and their lovely photos, I’ve compiled a list of the most beautiful flowers in the world…acccording to me.
Plumeria
Lotus
Poppy
Passionflower
Dahlia
Pink Lady Slipper
Flowers of the Cannonball Tree
Lycoris
Epiphyllum
Trillium
Photo credit: sphilp1225
Peonies
Calla Lilies
Anemones
I could really go on and on with this list. I also have an affinity for tulips, irises, and orchids, but I guess I have to stop somewhere.
What are your favorites?