Patty Harayda
Welcome to my life! I love sharing photos from my gardens, what I'm currently reading, and more.
4.24.2024
Spring Hardening Off
4.05.2024
Spring Seedlings - Artichokes
3.27.2024
Gophers Win!
2.16.2024
2024 is the Year of the Garden
Last fall I toyed with the idea of going back to school and when the deadline for applying for a certificate class came around... I submitted my application and decided that if I was accepted I would see how my brain would do with learning how to re-learn!
So far.... so good!
I'm doing the certified Volunteer Master Gardener program and it is AMAZING. The amount of information is A LOT and the learning doesn't stop. I've done several webinars to continue learning on topics that I had no idea about - like commercial flower farming, pesticide use on agricultural land, and Integrated Pest Management. It's all fascinating. Last week I had a pollinator webinar and learned how to identify and distinguish bees from beneficial flies (their wings, you look at their wings!).
And now we're onto learning best practices for fruits and vegetable growing.
We've been told we'll get the most questions at the State Fair and the Home & Garden show about tomatoes, apples, and pest management so I'm trying to arm myself best as possible!
I'm also using all this knowledge to push myself to volunteering at more elementary schools to check out other school gardens to see what is possible. At some point, I would like to get together with the middle school science teachers in my school district to see if a single raised bed would be possible and build from there. I have learned with the school garden that I run - you can't jump in fully without testing the waters first, it's not a good thing to be completely overwhelmed running a garden if you don't have the volunteers and support you need. It's like how I would love to work with high schoolers to give them the experience to put on their resumes, but first I need to know how many volunteers I need, build a guide for directions, etc... You can't just garden without a plan. So that's another part of my learning!
I've received so many AWESOME book recommendations and they're reference books so they're HUGE. I really have forgotten what it's like to continuously be looking up information and research questions - in the world of horticulture you can find many experts but I've learned to ask to be introduced to THE EXPERT of an insect, animal, or plant instead of just asking a random Horticulturalist or Entomologist. I KNOW.9.20.2023
Another Backyard Project
9.18.2023
BIKE BIKE BIKE
9.15.2023
September is Here
And it's already half finished. I've been a terrible blogger. I've really updated my Instagram stories more because that's way more convenient. To be honest... finding time to sit and write is not at the top of my list!
Earlier this week I filled out an application to do the Master Gardener course with the U of M Extension and become a Master Gardener. That was a lot of thinking about future projects! Part of it includes engagement and getting people more involved in gardening or sharing knowledge. Some day maybe I can incorporate high schoolers in the school garden for teaching and learning and also - volunteer credit and a reference for a job!
In the meantime I can't even come up with a coherent thought today... so I'll leave you with some pics of the past few weeks!
5.09.2023
Spring is here
All the garden projects have been started. Now I just need to focus, sit down and finish them!
4.25.2023
So Much Garden Work
It's really nice starting from a clean slate but I also feel like it's a lot of work! I was awarded a Lawns to Legumes grant - it's for $350 and I'm super excited! The area where I'll be putting in natives is right under the two new windows next to the door. This area gets so much water drainage and I need plants to suck up the water and not flood my yard! The stairs onto the new patio area - that area is also basically a pond in the spring, so we need to do something about it, my best idea is to do a permeable patio surface so instead of doing a concrete patio, the patio is going to be mostly pavers however, we'll have 2-4 inches of gravel between each paver to let the water go into the ground instead of sitting on top. Also, towards the lawn corner of the patio, I can dig out a french drain where the water can pool and be released back into the ground.
So much work but I can't wait for it to be finished so we can finally enjoy our new backyard!
3.10.2023
Started Seeds
This winter seems so long. I'm not sure if it's because the snow started early or if it's because it just doesn't seem to stop!