2024 Full Vegetable Garden Tour #3 - Zone 4B (The Good, The Bad & The Ugly!)

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

It's been a tough year (so far). How is your garden growing?!

[@northerngirlhobbies]

Disappointed in a few things this year but, it’s all in the learning and making adjustments.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

@@northerngirlhobbies There is always something to contend with. We agree in the learning. I wish our learning curve wasn't so long!! Cheers Jen!

[@northerngirlhobbies]

@@TheOldSwedesFarm cheers Rich!

[@northerngirlhobbies]

Yes don’t give up Rich and Holly!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We won't give up. Too many things to do!!

[@northerngirlhobbies]

@@TheOldSwedesFarm I know!

[@AHomesteadingHustle]

The rain has been so hard this year! I'll be doing a garden tour this weekend showing the good, the bad and the ugly as well. Oofta, it's a tough season in Minnesota!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

It's been a tough couple years. We'll make it through it and be harvesting soon. Keep the faith and we'll get through it! Cheers Sarah!!

[@TheCowEmporium]

Two weeks goes fast! 😅 Your carrots, onions and potatoes look so good. If you want you can freeze your dill now and use it to make your pickles later. Our dill is usually long done by pickling season even though we succession plant it throughout the season. Great update! Take care.

[@LytonaKirtz]

Do you do anything special to freeze dill?

[@TheCowEmporium]

@@LytonaKirtz I just wash the dill and pat it dry on a kitchen towel then lay it on a cookie sheet to freeze in small batches. After frozen I’ll put it in a freezer bag and take out what I need for canning or for cooking. I like to freeze some of the dill weed and more mature tops (before they fill with seed) then I have options depending on what I’m using it for! Thanks for asking. Hopefully that makes sense! Take care. 🌺

[@LytonaKirtz]

@@TheCowEmporium thank you so much. My cucumbers are sad. They are pretty waterlogged. Actually doing ok considering.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Holly is freezing some and drying some. She is working to preserve as much as she can! Cheers Annette!!

[@G.W.H.]

Thanks for sharing!!!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Thanks for stopping by to join us! We appreciate all your support! Have a great holiday week!!

[@LittleHomesteadOnHinerPond]

I appreciate the mindset of forging on with what you’ve got. Since this is only my third growing season I’m still learning a lot about perseverance and overcoming setbacks. All the rain here has been a blessing for us because our pond is now back to a normal level. The setback I have is all the plants that the deer have munched on, especially strawberries and beans. I just bought some deer fencing to put around the garden beds but I have to be creative about it. My beds are all spread amongst long established native plantings rather than in a compact area. Thanks for another good video!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Fence what you can and work to save as much as you can. I don't have too many deer to contend with. I'm thankful for that as they can really do some damage (as you know). Praying for success in your garden! Cheers!

[@juanisgarden5356]

That's too bad! So sad to see the damage 😮. Thank goodness you still have some amazing vegetables and herbs!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We're still fighting but it's a struggle. It's supposed to be dry for the next week (but there have been showers each day!). We'll keep battling! Cheers Juani!

[@YogiHollowFarm]

Amazing the difference a few weeks makes. Glad the standing water is gone. Your plants overall despite the issues look amazing. Lots of growth. Dry here and cool so slow growing. Cheers!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

For dry and cool, your garden looked good. Let's hope we both get the right amount of rain and it stays warm!! Cheers Lisa!

[@AnneHeyns]

more than a month ago we had so much rain for 3 weeks that i had to remove everything and replant new seeds - glad to say it is growing great now. Your garden looks great still even though you lost some☺

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I think we're going to have to replant the peas and beans and move all the peppers. One year is too dry and now we're soaked. Keep us posted on your garden growth. Cheers Anne!

[@AnneHeyns]

@@TheOldSwedesFarm will do so☺

[@MayfieldRanch]

Oh no! That is super frustrating that the plants are struggling with all the water. The property sure does look beautiful though getting all the water. Everything in the field looks so green behind you. Sorry for the struggle! Hopefully the rest of the season will be better!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

It's gotten warmer and the corn has erupted! It's unreal how fast it can grow. We're supposed to have warm and sunny for a week, but we've had storms each day. Enough rain!!! Cheers!

[@LytonaKirtz]

Part of my garden in underwater now. Actually most things are looking pretty good considering . I’ve been plagued with rabbits. They ate about 3/4 of my beans. I hope to replant today.

[@beesandseeds]

Oh dang!! All that water still 😮. Your tubs look amazing. I just got mine planted end of June.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

The tubs have been incredible. We just ordered more! I can't get enough! If we can get more, we can be back in control of the growing process. Cheers Lisa!

[@gbltheolechurch5acrehomestead]

Hi Rich… 2 weeks already….agree, June was indeed a wet month here as well….RAIN and SNOW!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Snow?! Yikes! I hope you are done with the snow and we're both done with the heavy rains. Let's get some warmth and let the plants grow! Cheers Garry!

[@brycewiborg8095]

The peas drowned out. They bloomed, and weren't looking bad then they died. Unfortunately the deer came after the yellow wax, and green beans that had been looking healthy. They also grazed the top off of the beets. So far my cucumbers, and tomatoes are looking good. 50 years ago we were a grower for Gedney. I have no recollection of failure of the cucumbers. Chin up ! We've been through bad years before. Thank you Rich.

[@brycewiborg8095]

Oh. Nearly forgot. Carrots are looking good so far.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

You've had as bad of luck as we've had. Sorry for your struggles Bryce. We're going to replant the peas and beans and pray for success. Keep us posted on your successes! Have a great Independence Day!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

@@brycewiborg8095 Carrots are fighters (unless they're in heavy clay soil). We'll both be eating carrots all winter!!

[@josephscherer4581]

Over in Bloomington--Tomatoes are doing great-Squash is coming along pretty good-Beets are coming along slowly-Carrots and cucumbers and peppers have barely grown........

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Maybe we'll have to work out a trade - squash for carrots! I hope your carrots, cukes and peppers get going. I'm praying for no rain but it looks like a really wet day today! Cheers Joseph!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

PS - I grew up over by Dwan Golf Course in Bloomington! Great town!

[@gbltheolechurch5acrehomestead]

To bad about the broccoli and cauliflower! Dig out is a good idea!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We will start over and hope for a good crop!

[@farkleberry471]

Gosh, all that work! Oh well, at least some things are making it.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We need to celebrate the successes! We'll just replant and see how the second batch does! Cheers!

[@alison8725]

Last year we had that same issue here…rain rain rain…it took out ALL our winter squash. I got ONE summer squash and zero zucchini. Tomatoes, potatoes and beans did well..this year has been much better and things are exploding. Here in Maine we’re zone 5b

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I'm going to get some zucchini and yellow squash in the ground soon. We'll find a way to get a harvest! I'm glad your garden is exploding. That's how it should be! Cheers Alison!

[@alison8725]

@@TheOldSwedesFarm good luck! Cheers to you as well!!

[@Danploof]

**Minneapolis** I think I'm lucky that i use plant bags that lift my stuff off the ground. That being said, my peppers are still struggling with all the wet. I had my first harvest from one of them and it was a re pepper that's about the size of my thumb nail. Tomato are loving it, they're all about 4-5' tall and I'm starting to see my first fruits.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

You're doing great! The bags are keeping you well ahead of us. I need to continue to work on raised beds for our needs. We'll get there! Continue to keep us posted on your progress! Cheers!

[@Danploof]

@@TheOldSwedesFarm Yeah, it seems like your trough gardens are really working out. I wonder if you were to do mounds instead of flat ground, if that would work better.

[@threeriversforge1997]

Down here in South Carolina I think we're running a bit dry rather than wet. I could certainly use a couple more inches. I missed putting in veggies this year, but my native flowers are looking okay. I just have to keep on top of watering them to make sure they stay okay. We get rains, but then we have some really hot and dry spells, like today, that just sucks the life out of everything.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Once the natives get set, they should be able to withstand the dry. I sure hope you get rain though. I used to get down to Columbia each month. Loved the food, the BBQ and the people! Cheers!

[@shannon3111]

Your onions look awesome, ours have hardly grown in the ground in east central MN. I’m just about giving up on them, we have a patch of perennial Egyptian walking onions that are doing much better.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We got the raised beds a few years ago and they are awesome for growing onions! I won't do it any other way. Keep us posted on your progress. Cheers Shannon!

[@CookBrookCountryLife]

Glad many of the plants did make it. Doesn't the black cloth prevent the excess water from evaporating? (Although I can see the advantages of the garden cloth in more average conditions.) June precipitation has been pretty regular here in western Mass, but now the showers are becoming a bit sparse.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I don't think the fabric keeps it wet. The fabric breathes and keeps the ground warm. It's just been hard getting rid of 11 inches of rain. We're doing better now. We're going to work to avoid this issue in the future with more raised beds. Glad you've had normal precipitation. We're praying for "normal" for the rest of the year. Cheers!

[@pianokey731]

I'm in Wisconsin. It's rained so much that I've only been able to plant about half of my garden. I might try to plant a few more things because there's still plenty of growing season left. I'm harvesting pea pods right now since I managed to get them planted in April, but everything else seems very stunted by all the rain, especially my peppers. Something is eating my pepper plants, too, which normally doesn't happen. I'll just do the best I can with what I've got. What else can you do?

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

It's really been a tough season. I'm hoping, with three months of growing left, we can still get some good harvesting. Keep us posted on your progress!

[@gbltheolechurch5acrehomestead]

The Raised Bed “Tubs” seem to be the growing ticket Rich. How much does those steel tubs cost?

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I think that is the key to success for us. Each one is about $300-$350. Not cheap but they will outlast me!!

[@gbltheolechurch5acrehomestead]

@@TheOldSwedesFarm They are popular Rich. I’m very frugal…lol…I will likely build a few 3ft high Raised Beds from reclaimed and recycled materials. The Raised Beds we currently have at the house we are selling are only 1 foot high. Getting old here and do not want to be bending over…lol! Chat soon. Hi to Holly.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

@@gbltheolechurch5acrehomestead I look at all the beds as an investment. I am not good at building and I don't want to be building something every 3-5 years. I'm investing in a permanent solution. Show off your building, when you are complete. Keep us posted Garry! Cheers!