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Owned by Celeste

Where Midwest Kitchen Gardens Thrive

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10 contributions to The Backyard Harvest Club
Blueberries!
I love filling a bowl of blueberries early on a June morning! Are there any other berry growers here?
Blueberries!
0 likes • 8d
I made a decision a long time back that these are for me and not the birds and squirrels! So they are under cover for about 2 months of the year, from when they start to set fruit. I'll try to post a picture of the structure we built. The structure is wooden and stays, then we covered with mesh fabric in June.
Potatoes are going nuts this year
After blueberries, far my most successful crop at far appears to be potatoes, at least from what I can see above ground. I'm using a potato specific fertilizer for the first time, and I sure hope it's creating tubers with the same vigor that it's creating leaves! I think these leaves will give energy to the tubers, but with potatoes you never know until Harvest Time. What looks promising in your Midwest (or Midwest adjacent) garden this year?
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Potatoes are going nuts this year
WEEDS!
With all of the rain we've had lately, weeds are growing like crazy! I'm doing okay in the areas with adequate mulch --- but there are a lot of areas of the garden where I'm scrambling to play catch-up. Anyone else feeling like you have more weeds than veggies right now?
0 likes • 8d
@Jolie Daugherty I had to go out of town for a bit and tried to mulch as much as I could before I left. When we're out of town I have hoursittera and a neighbor who will tend and harvest but they will not weed!
What Are We Planting This Weekend?
It's finally SAFE to put those warm-season veggies in the ground where I am. (To see if this is true for you, check the 10-day forecast: if the nights are generally above 50F / 10C, you're in the clear!) Just make sure you've given any young plants time to "harden off" by putting them outside in a protected area for a few hours each day, then one full night, before planting them out. My list for this weekend is ambitious! I'm hoping to plant the rest of my potatoes and onions along with tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, zinnias, marigolds, and my first round of green beans. I'm just holding off on cucurbits (cucumbers, melons, squash, and pumpkins) for a couple more weeks. Let me know what YOU'RE growing in the comments!
0 likes • 10d
Emma, that Library sounds heavenly! The zucchini will be fine with the July heat, and even Swiss chard is surprisingly heat tolerant once it's established. I would say planting the other things in part shade is the solution if you want to start them while it's still hot out. The trickiest of these for me is actually carrots! I the have trouble keeping them moist long enough to germinate in my sandy soil. And of course, squash bugs and the dreaded squash vine borer are always a concern for zucchini, if you're worried, then plant them out under some mesh cover until the the flowers need pollinating.
Tonight's Weather Forecast
Good morning Midwest gardeners! The plants I sold at the sale have been acclimatized to the outdoors, but TONIGHT is still going to be too cold for the heat-loving plants! Bring peppers, tomatillos, squash, tomatoes, melons and basil INSIDE tonight. If they are already in the ground, cover them loosely this evening to protect them in the cold morning hours. An old blanket or sheet draped over some sticks will work for a group of plants, or a milk jug with the bottom cut off can cover a smaller plant. Lettuces and strawberries are cold-tolerant plants already used to being outside, so just make sure their soil is moist and leave them outside. Let me know if you have questions, and happy gardening!
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Celeste Boles
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@celeste-boles-7539
Midwest Backyard Harvest Mentor

Active 13h ago
Joined Apr 21, 2026
Hammond, Indiana