Apartment garden & fruit garden

It's been difficult to commit to maintaining a garden this year, and for the last few years. My gardens aren't a 5 minute drive or a walk out the back door anymore, so I have resulted to focusing on the fruit trees and fruit bushes. Also, I have been attempting to have a Fall garden at my apartment. 

The Kieffer pear trees are still growing strong. 

My blueberry and blackberry bushes are growing great, but the birds are eating all of the berries, and the briars have taken over my patch of fruit bushes and my old main vegetable garden. 

I used to grow a ton of different veggies and lettuces, pumpkins, corn, beans, tomatoes, but it is now but a wasteland of briars, grass, and tangled mess. 

Until I can totally devote my time to gardening like I used to, I won't be able to maintain anything but what I'm doing now. 

As stated, in my despair of not having plotted gardens this year, I have experimented with potting vegetables at an apartment. As you know from years past, much of my gardening has been a hugelkuktur garden on one property and a tilled garden at a second garden. Plus, I've kept a mini fruit orchard that I used to be proud of. 

Alas, time flies when you're having fun and working your ass off, so I'm happy to say that I will have a massive pear harvest; my peaches will drop to the ground and nourish the earth; the blueberries, grapes and blackberry bushes will feed the birds; fig trees will fruit as long as I keep looking at them; and I will try my best to water my apartment garden.

Pear fruit growing late June

Kieffer pears

Alberta peach...not looking to cute

Here I have taken pics of my rose, houseplants and veggies.

ABC ROSE

Houseplants 

I've been attempting to grow some summer vegetables in pots at the apartment. It's all very experimental, I've never done it before. I have 2 Cherokee beefsteak tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, radish, garlic and potato growing in my pots. I am trying to germinate kale and lettuce. I sowed Kale seeds (blue curled) variety on  July 9th 2024...these are 60 days till harvest, so that would be October 1st. 

Additionally, I sowed Lettuce seeds (grand rapids) on July 8th 2024. These are 45 days till maturity; sowed sparkler radish, 25 days till harvest, and bloomsdale long standing spinach which is 45 days till harvest and I'll be able to harvest August 22nd. 

Cucumber and zucchini plants

Obviously you can't see all of the houseplants in this photo, but they're doing the beat they can in these hot, hot months so far.

Tomato 

I can't show off my couple of garden gems without showing my grandmas beauties as well...

And some of my other snapshots from the beginning of Summer...

Blooming cactus

Fruit & Veg Gardens in Early June Food Forest

On Sunday, I took the time to weed my gardens. I hoed around the rows of beans, corn, potatoes, peas, squash and cucumbers. My grandmother said she fertilized them and that we were going to have another week of rain showers. 

Here, I have Cushaw, cucumbers, potatoes, pumpkins, and peas growing amongst one another.

 

On this end of the garden, beans and corn are growing in long rows that I tilled a couple of weeks ago. 

My other garden has become quite the cilantro forest. This seems to be my most difficult garden this year as nothing seems to be flourishing here. I planted and sowes a plethora of radish and lettuce seed, but it has fizzled out fast. I haven't been able to harvest hardly any greens or radishes this year, so that's a bummer. 

I also planted lots of tomatoes and peppers amongst the garden beds so I'm hoping these do well at least as the hot summer has come full force. 

One thing that is making me hopeful for this year's garden harvest is the fruit from the trees this year. For the first time I have the plum and nectarine trees fruiting this year. Amongst these, the peach and pear trees are also growing decent sized fruits already. 

I was worried the birds would have already picked the blueberries, as these have grown large and in big cluster this year. My hope is that these are also very fruitful and I can actually harvest them before th birds get these AND all of the blackberries I am also growing.

What's weird, is that I have completely neglected my fruit trees and fruit bushes this year. I have not weeded nor mulched or composted around them at all! But, they seem to be doing just fine! 

Finally, I have arranged my house plants on an outdoor shelf that I have situated on the porch. This actually helps my cacti to avoid getting scorched by the sun when they're on a shaded porch on dark plastic shelving. And now that we have entered the month of June, I can keep the houseplants outdoors where it is hot and humid--jusy how they like it!

Tulip, Spring Flower Garden & fruit trees

This Spring, find your hope and treasure it. I have hope when I see the fruit trees in bloom. You see with me in the photo below, the peach tree split over the winter, and yet, it still persists. It has gorgeous little pink blossoms. 

Amongst the flowering trees, the tulip garden is in full swing. 

Here, the plum blooms white like a big cloud in the sky.

Similar to the Plum, the pear trees are blooming.

At my job, this beautiful pear is also showing off...

Over the last 2 days, I planted almost 10 rows of potatoes; and sowed radish and spinach seed. Slowly, but surely, I am getting some things in the ground! 

Spring harvest & Frost protection for Food Forest

Before the frosty nights, I was sure to pick some garden greens and radishes. There was a lot of arugula so the salad was spicy eith the radishes.

During this pandemic, I am delivering some free garden food to the elders in my life as well.

As you may know, I'm here in zone 6-7 where it continues to have nights of frost up until May. I used towels, throw blankets, thin quilts and bedsheets, potato grow bags, tent covers, and tree covers, and tobacco canvas. You name it, I used it! I wanted to protect the many fruiting trees and bushes in the food forest. Besides the trees, I covered the 2 grapes, 10 blueberry bushes, 3 goji berries, 2 raspberries.

Grapes

 In the photo below, you can spot my dog rolling on her back and kicking the air.

Alberta peaches

Nectarines 

pear minimally covered

Pear

Plum and cherries 

Figs, cherry, and plum

Blueberries, goji, raspberries 

With this frost, I worry about the fruit trees and their fruits. I covered the majority of the fruiting bushes but barely covered the large fruit trees. I didnt cover the Tulip garden and I saw this morning that the petals have fallen, so they didn't make it. I ran out of covers for them plus anything weighing the tulips down would probably break them.

There's 3 figs, 3 peaches, 1 mulberry, 2 nectarines, 2 cherries, 2 plums, 2 pears, that are loaded with tiny fruits. I hope they survived the 28 degree night. I woke up this morning and there is frost blanketing the landscape. 

Pear fruits

Cherry fruits

Flowering aronia, which I ran out of covers to protect

Dogwood flowering

Cold April sunset