Perhaps the Longest Garden Journal Wrap Up Ever!
hive-140635·@riverflows·
0.000 HBDPerhaps the Longest Garden Journal Wrap Up Ever!
**A little secret - I write the draft for the garden journal wrap up as I go, doing a few each day. If I fall behind, or it's a good month, it can take me hours to compile. It's totally a pleasure, but boy this wrap up took FOREVER - there was so much garden awesomeness to admire and comment upon! So if I've missed anyone, please forgive me - I do notice all of you and try to upvote or comment, but if I don't, I'm only a human doing her best!**  In [this post](https://peakd.com/hive-140635/@owasco/big-house-tiny-garden-a-may-garden-journal-entry) @owasco shows us that big things can happen in a small garden. Although she's only recently moved (this will be her first Spring) she has big plans, putting in beds and thinking about the advantages of quail over chickens.  @plantstoplanks is back with one of her brilliant selfies. Although I choose them with a random name picker to win HIVE, boy do I want to just give her all the HIVE for this one - aint it cute? <center>  Cute pics aside, there's a LOT happening in her garden - true abundance. She's an avid plant eater too, so everything she grows turns into some pretty awesome meals. She writes: > *Overall, I'm feeling very confident for the season ahead! It is always so rewarding to sprout these little goodies from tiny seeds and nurture them to life. Of course you can't beat the taste of produce straight from your own soil, but the journey itself is its own reward. I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune when I'm fighting the critters yet again for ripe fruit, but as long as they share some of the bounty with us, we'll be doing alright.* It's always us versus the critters, it seems, and some failures amongst the successes (like the slaters and earwigs eating my broccoli this month) but we usually end up with quite a bit for our efforts in the end. Hard graft produces the food for the table, right? @sanjeevm has been contending with heat and a possible rooftop garden ban, but has been persisting with a fertiliser recipe to produce these beautiful flowers!  One of the things I love about the #gardenjournal tag is seeing how people's gardens grow month to month, sometimes from bare winter soil to beautiful green abundance. This is true of @nikolina's beautifully presented post [here](https://peakd.com/hive-140635/@nikolina/garden-journal-may-2022).  Please, whatever you do, don't miss @fermentedphil's post about garden circularity. I think most of us gardeners appreciate the cyclical nature of gardening - planting the seed, harvesting and putting it back into the soil. [This post](https://peakd.com/hive-140635/@fermentedphil/the-amazing-circularity-of-growing) is as much an ode to good compost as it is to what grows from it. > **Growing food is a complex system. Nature works on her own time. You can plan ahead, but sometimes this will not be enough. But the one constant is the amazing circularity that is at work. What I mean by this is simply the fact that what you use and harvest can be used again and again in different forms. One "tool" that helps with this circularity is composting. The leaves can provide food for us and the compost bugs; the stems can be dried for the fire and added as ash and charcoal to the compost. The seeds become new plants and the dead material that is compost feeds the new plants. In turn, these new plants will also die and be turned into compost and new plants. Ad infinitum.** @traisto's herbs are starting to grow too - let's hope the rosemary catches up soon. I can just imagine the scent of the herbs in the hot Greek summer sun.  @enjar wrote about some failures in their garden - I think all gardeners feel this pain. It can be so frustrating trying to grow things from seed to make money only to have poor germination rates or insects eat the young seedlings. Go give them some words of encouragement [here](https://peakd.com/hive-140635/@enjar/garden-2022-or-a-rough-start). It'sbeen a while since @edprivat has written a garden post but if you want some fantastic entertainment, go read his [here](https://peakd.com/hive-140635/@edprivat/circle-of-life-the-lawnmower-midlife-crisis-hive-garden-journal). He's also the proud owner of a lawnmower to make the best of us a little envious.  @buckaroobaby waxes lyrical about herbs and insects in her garden. I'm definitely on board with what she says here and also think herbs are a must in any garde, particularly for insects: > **Herbs are an amazing and underestimated part of the homestead. My gardens may be sparse but you will always find a profusion of herbs growing. They need far less attention than veggies and there is always a profusion of flowers - no matter what the season. Herbs are my go-to for kitchen creations as well as medical remedies. The bonus is that the herbs attract our little pollinators. And those pretty creatures are essential to the success of the gardens, which includes veggies and trees.**  @obsesija 's garden is producing well - the quinces are flowering (so pretty) and there are figs, onions, potatoes as well - really makes my mouth water! @vincentnijman always makes me jealous of his view - seen below - but I particularly lovefd his enthusiasm for found peaches in [this post](https://peakd.com/hive-140635/@vincentnijman/movin-to-the-country-gonna-eat-a-lot-of-peaches-on-lifes-little-miracles). He's just started his garden journey which is fabulous. As we all know, once you are hooked, you are hooked.  Now I'm not sure if this is an offical #gardenjournal entry from @ismaelrd04as it doesn't follow all the guidelines, but it did use the tag. I'm feeling a little forgiving since he's in his garden in a Hive t-shirt - what do you think? Some successes, some failures with his paprika plants - sending love to them so they'll grow!  I hope you have made a cuppa for this post as it's getting long! Check out @luckylaica's vegetable garden if you want to be inspired to grow your own food. Look at the size of her spinach! You'll find her on the selfie wall at the end of this post as well. She's pretty proud of her lettuce as well, and her tomatoes have just kept on giving.  It's great to see @trucklifefamily having time to post, especially as it's the first garden since she moved to her new land. Isn't this a lovely picture of her kale with the mountain in the background? Loved what she said about gardening too - > **Having a garden really helps me stay grounded. I felt so uneasy when I was in the process of moving and then when I had to wait 6 weeks, before I could move on to this piece of land. I feel so much more secure in myself, when I have food growing, Growing food is one of the best medicines out there. Every single part of it.**  In @stellify's [garden journal she talks about raising enough vegetables for three people. When they moved in, there was some vacant land they asked the neighbours if they could use. It's always wonderful to see unused land made into something productive, especially when it's nurtured with the 'water of life'.  @andrastia slid in with a last minute #gardenjournal post getting sentimental about guavas. I think there's loads of people who plant things for sentimental reasons, because the plant might have a story attached to it or reminds us of someone we love. @blingit did a 3speak video - watch it [here](https://peakd.com/hive-140635/@blingit/edibvopt) to know what's behind her garden shed in Brisbane, Australia! Serious to goodness, if I had a prize for the 'most crazy garden vegetable', I think the horny melons would win it, @nikv!  Like me and @minismallholding, @ligaygardener lives in the southern region of Australia so like me, his garden is starting to look empty. Still, there's work to be done - fertilising (but not to much), dealing with frost damage, pruning trees and generally encouraging good soil microbes. I really think this is advice we ALL need to heed: #### 'Look after your microbes and they'll look after you. They are the keys to fertility in your garden and, regardless of how much fertilizers you add to your soil, the fertility won't improve without the help of the trillions of little critters that live in the soil and right inside your plants too.' @blackberryskunk has been nurturing little plants inside like many northern gardeners, ready for Spring. It gives her plants a healthy headstart. AND she's had some garden helpers, like this little fella:  Seriously check out her post [here](https://peakd.com/hive-140635/@blackberryskunk/little-garden-helpers-garden-update-may-2022) - there's so much going on. One thing I'm curious about is eating rhubarb when she gets thirsty in the garden and growing hemp - definitely a #gardenjournal to watch throughout the season! There's so much going on I got a little jealous - I have a few months to wait til Spring! Are you tired yet? Sometimes compiling these garden journal post wrap ups are harder than digging a field of potatoes, and I dare you to challenge that, @edprivat! :P Okay, next post! @the13anarchist writes about his first go at self sufficiency - yay! Do go and support this new Hiver in the way Hive folk do - with generosity and support! Here's the [post](https://peakd.com/hive-140635/@the13anarchist/garden-journal-entry-1-april-17-may-6-2022). Great to see some lawn dug up to replace with vegetables - garlic, potatoees, broccoli - can't wait to see how this progresses! Thanks for joining in on the #gardenjournal - you've found one of the best communitites on HIVE! @multifacetas also mentioned the water of life, including some photos of passionfruit and other rain soaked flowers in her abundant garden - plus a selfie, which you will see on the wall below! > **It is important to emphasize that water in the world and in every living being is the most vital and important liquid without it we cannot live. And rainwater plus having more minerals, is magical because all plants have more vitality. It also worked its magic for me and I was able to store many liters to guarantee life to my plants for several weeks.** Leaving you with this image from @mamajo - I am not sure if it's a true #gardenjournal entry or not, but I loved it as daffodils just scream 'springggg' to me!  If I have missed any posts, please forgive me - there was a huge amount of them this month! It DOES help to use the #gardenjournal tag AND pop it under the challenge post for good measure - perhaps I will specify this next time and use the countdown timer as well (thanks for the suggestion and reminder, @shanibeer!) # The Winners As always, an incredibly hard choice! Best just make a gut decision and move on to more gardening! **The Passion Prize** New Hive gardener and sooo keen to have a bit of self sufficiency, the recipient of the passion prize for most passionate, excited and enthusiast garden journal goes to @the13anarchist! **Vegetable Garden Prize* to @stellify, @blackberryskunk and @nikv. 3 HIVE each, coming your way! Honestly I could award all the vegetable gardeners here and feel like I'm rotating through your awesomeness every month! **Selfie Prize** Only a couple to choose from this week but the random generator has picked @plantstoplanks! Maybe the random name picker appreciated your sense of humour too with your mangetout/snow pea moustache? <center>  <c/enter> **Bonus Prizes** This week I can't help but add a couple of bonus prizes to some entries. 2 Hive goes to @edprivat for making me laugh and helping to pay for his midlife crisis lawnmower, to @ligayagardener for always having amazing snippets of wisdom that are truly valued, and to @fermentedphil for always giving us something to think about, this week being *the circularity of life* in our gardens. # Thanks everyone for joining in with good humour, passion, enthusiasm and garden tips!  <center> # `With Love,`    **Join [The Hive Garden](https://peakd.com/c/hive-140635/created) Community! The [HIVE GARDEN COMMUNITY](https://peakd.com/c/hive-140635/created) supports gardening, homesteading, cannabis growers, permaculture and other garden related content. Delegations to the curation account, @gardenhive, are welcome! Find our community [here](https://peakd.com/c/hive-140635/created)!**</sup> **Are you on HIVE yet? Earn for writing! Referral link for FREE account [here!](https://hiveonboard.com?ref=riverflowsJ)**</center> <a href="https://peakd.com/@naturalmedicine"> </center> <a href='https://buymeberri.es/@riverflows' target='_blank'><img src='https://buymeberries.com/assets/bmb-2-m.png'/></a> 
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