I’ve got to say that I’m so excited to garden this year! I’m excited to be pushing my own boundaries and learning how to become better at it. Not only have I started some new seedlings inside and outside this week but I’ve also done a bit of research into learning companion planting. I’m so excited to you you guys what I’ve planted this week and how I’m going to use my garden beds.
So for this week I started planting one of each of my fruits and vegetables. I’ve also planted out some different types of flowers as well. Inside I planted Roma tomatoes. I’m really excited to be growing this variety so that I can make pasta sauce. However, outside I’ve planted strawberries and Danver carrots. I don’t know the variety of straw berries because they are store bought ones that started to go bad and well I just really wanted to at least not let the seeds go to waste. We go through a lot of strawberries so I really didn’t want those ones that went bad to go to waste. I’ve also started planting flowers as well too. The flower seeds that I’ve planted are echinacea, painted daisy, lupine, asylum and ornamental grass (a smaller variety). I’ve selected those flowers for two reasons. The first is that I wanted something that is a perennial and would come back year after year. The second is that they can attract pollinators (bees) and fight off unwanted pests too. I do not want to use any pesticides on my plants. I planted my perennials in two different spots and for slightly different reasons. The first is the obvious in my planter bed to help pollinate my garden and the second place is in the bed in my front yard for aesthetic reasons. Also, I wanted to make sure to tell you guys as a tip when you planting new seedlings inside or outside is to make sure you water your soil first before planting. The is so that your seedlings don’t become washed out and “misplaced”. You defiantly don’t want that to happen.
Another important aspect of gardening is what is called companion planting. Companion planting can help your crops grow by not only sometimes giving it nutrients but it can help ward off unwanted pests. Take for example tomatoes and basil. The herby smell of the basil helps repel bugs and more specifically hornworms. I’ve learned how important companion planting for your garden is. In the next few weeks you guys are going to see me do a lot of companion planting with different herbs and plants.
I can already feel that this year is going to be a big year for growing my garden. Especially with what I’ve learned on how much companion planting and having pollinators (flowers) in your garden can help in the growth of your harvest. I’m not that great with growing flowers but it is something that I’m willing to learn. I’m just hoping that all this rain that we have had this week is going to help with the seeds that are germinating outside.