If you want more melons, squash, and cucumbers this year, the secret isn't just soil and sun. It's flowers. 🌻 Here's a good rule of thumb I use in my own garden: for every 3 vegetable plants, plant at least 1 flower. Some veggies rely on pollinators to produce fruit. But veggie blooms alone often aren't enough to catch their attention, especially early in the season before your vegetables even start flowering. Think of flowers as the billboard. Their bright colors and strong scent are basically advertising "food here!" to any pollinator flying by. Once they land in your garden for the flowers, they'll naturally visit your vegetable blooms too. 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 Not all pollinators are drawn to the same things, so a mix of flowers brings a mix of helpers: 🐝 Bees love purple, blue, and yellow flowers like lavender, bee balm, hyssop, and sunflowers 🦋 Butterflies go for clustered or flat, open blooms in red, orange, and pink, like zinnias, lantana, and coneflowers, because they give them a place to land 🐦 Hummingbirds are drawn to tubular, red or orange flowers like salvia, California fuchsia, and trumpet vine 🌙 Moths prefer pale or white flowers that open in the evening, like moonflower or evening primrose, since they're active at night Planting a variety means you're rolling out the welcome mat for more than just bees. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 Pollinators need water just like we do, and having a source right in your garden makes a huge difference. A bird bath or small fountain works great. If there's no water nearby, pollinators have to leave your garden to find some elsewhere, which means less time pollinating your plants. But if you've got water right there, they can take a quick drink, rest for a second, and get right back to work. However, bees and other small pollinators can actually drown in open water. So, toss a few flat stones, rocks, marbles, or corks into the bird bath or fountain so they have something to land on while they drink. A shallow dish with pebbles works just as well if you don't have a bird bath.

As of this exact second, the doors are officially open to something completely new: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗜𝗬 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆! This program is designed to walk you through an entire growing year, from bare soil to a stocked pantry. You'll go from an overwhelmed beginner to growing a productive organic garden in a 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 of the time it would take to do it alone 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹? To help you completely trust your own decisions, predict issues before they happen, and build a repeatable food system for your household. I built this Academy out of my own raw frustrations from when I first started out 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗼, combined with the feedback from the 1,100+ members in this community. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼: 🐓 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝗯𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 and build true food security 🍅 𝗗𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 for food that actually tastes the way nature intended 👧 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 and teach your children or grandchildren exactly where real food comes from 🥗 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆'𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 by eliminating toxic pesticides and synthetic herbicides from your diet 🧘 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 of moving your body, breathing fresh air, and connecting with the earth ...this Academy is your roadmap to make it happen. Today, we draw a line in the dirt. No more piecing together fragmented tutorials, no more expensive mistakes, and no more settling for a chaotic backyard that drains your energy instead of feeding your family. 🔒 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟰-𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽: 🌱 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟭 | 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲: The "measure twice, cut once" foundation. Prep your soil, plan your garden, and set up for a strong season. 🌿 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟮 | 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁: Master indoor seed starting, direct sowing, proper transplanting techniques, and succession timing. 🛡️𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟯 | 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁: Diagnose problems fast and keep your garden protected year-round. 🥫 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟰 | 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲: A dual-purpose phase. Learn to preserve your harvest while simultaneously preserving your soil through winterization and regeneration so next season starts from a position of strength.

Did you know the flowers in your garden ARE the fireworks?? "𝘶𝘮𝘮, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?" Hear me out. You know how a lot of man-made things take inspiration from and/or copy nature? Well, I was trying to come up with a fun Fourth of July gardening fact to share with y'all, and I started thinking about how a lot of my flowers kind of look like little fireworks... And then I thought, "𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴?" And wouldn't you know it!! THEY. ARE. 🤯 In Japanese, the word for fireworks is hanabi (花火). Which literally means "flower fire," from hana (flower) and hi (fire). Pyrotechnicians design the shells to burst into shapes that represent flowers. (And apparently trees, too!) Isn't that SO COOL?! I attached some photos of popular ones so you can see for yourself! I will definitely be dropping this fun fact at my 4th of July party tonight! 😎 Did you guys already know that? Have I been living under a rock? Because I feel like I may be a bit too excited about this new information. 🤣

Ever pull a tomato off the vine and think... "What on earth happened here??" If it looks similar to the one in the photo → that's called 𝗰𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴. 🐱 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘁 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴? It's a physical deformity that shows up as scarring, puckering, and sometimes deep cracks or holes near the blossom end (the bottom of the tomato, opposite the stem). Apparently, someone thought the scarring looked like a cat's face. But I may have to disagree there. What do you think?? 🌺 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝘁? Cat facing happens when the plant is under stress right around the time a flower is forming. That stress messes with pollination, and the flower ends up developing extra plant tissue that's fused together instead of forming smooth & round. That flower still turns into a tomato, but the fruit grows around all that extra tissue, which is where the scarring and puckering come from. 𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀: - 𝗧𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, especially nights below 55°F (13°C) while the blossom is forming - 𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗿, which pushes leafy growth over healthy flower development - 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗳𝘁 landing on the plant at the wrong time - 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 right around the flower clusters 🍅 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 This happens most commonly with big beefsteak-style and heirloom varieties, think Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter, and Cherokee Purple (which is what's in my hand in this photo). Their flowers are naturally bigger and more complex, which increases the chance of cat facing. Cherry and grape tomatoes almost never cat face since their flowers are small and simple. 𝗜𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲? Yes! It's just cosmetic. You can cut away the scarred parts and enjoy the rest. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿? Not necessarily; it depends on what stressors your plants encounter around bloom time & which varieties you're growing. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘁? You can't control the weather, but you can stack the odds. Wait to transplant until nights are reliably above 55°F (13°C) and go easy on the nitrogen.

So excited about our tomatoes growing in!