Backyard Garden

We have not had time to clear out the gardens and have not actually had the killing frost yet, but here's the first snow. The Japanese maple has not even had time to fully change color!

This year our gardens are small but coming along nicely. Mulching the gardens has not only reduced weeding but has also helped keep the moisture in the beds. We tried planting just a few cukes in a large pot and letting them vine instead of spreading out, we have already had several cucumbers and they are easy to see and pick. This year we are letting the big compost pile rest (it is almost perfect soil and will be nice to add to all the gardens later this fall) and picked up a barrel composter. Since we let the old pile rest there must have been some pumpkin seeds from last Halloween that sprouted and we may get some pumpkins, if not it's squash and either way it's great! Left to right: flower bed, morning glories, mint & chives bed, tomato & herbs bed, and the new composter just under the Japanese maple. 3 beds with peppers, different types of tomatoes, basil, oregano, broccoli, marigolds, cilantro, and strawberries. First successful brocc