This year was a big gardening year for me, this was my first season with a proper in-ground garden, the previous seasons were just raised garden beds. We intend on incorporating the raised beds with the in-ground garden next year. This was our first summer in our new home that we purchased in late 2023, which thankfully came with the beautiful garden.
The above was our “before” although to be honest this photo was taken after considerable work had been done. We had weeds upon weeds to clean out as well as dead former plants. There were various materials like wood and fencing that we had to find a new home for while meticulously clearing everything out. After what took a few weeks of on and off work we were able to plant!
And side note, look at how green it got in a matter of a couple weeks in northern MN! We raked out everything and applied fresh topsoil for planting and within a few days of doing this I was able to start transplanting my seedlings. This was also my first season trying to start all veggies from seeds. Operative word being “trying”, it did not go according to plan for all. My squashes, cucumbers, and peppers were all started at wrong times. I was traveling during the spring and all in all still trying to get my bearings in a zone 3b world.
Our garden was comprised of the following:
- Tomatoes
- Roma, Cherokee Purple, Pink, Black, Box, Lincoln, and Beefsteak
- Squash
- Butternut and Yellow.
- Peppers
- Cayenne, Thai Chili, Jalapeños (ended up being Hot Hungarian Wax), Habanero, Bell Pepper, and Anaheim
- Kentucky Wonder Beans
- Broccoli
- Brussel Sprouts
- Swiss Chard
- Asparagus (Courtesy of the former residents!)
Overall we had a very successful first season, we got loads of tomatoes and a fair amount of every other produce. There were definitely many lessons learned and will be implementing and sharing with you all come next season. It was a unique challenge for me and I am excited to take all the notes I have jotted down over the season to put it in practice. While no season is bound to be perfect as we know, we can learn from the mistake we made along the way to at least be prepared for what is to come.
Cheers to a glorious 2024 gardening season with all its ups and downs, and here we come 2025!!!
Happiness Cultivator 
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