Top Vegetables for Your Summer Garden

When I close my eyes and dream of summer, homegrown tomatoes, peppers and zucchini come to my mind.

By April, the spring and summer garden is fully planted. Each year I plant about twenty (20) different varieties of tomatoes (cherry, grape, roma, beefsteak, and heirloom). That is a LOT of tomatoes. But when it is time to harvest, the smell, the taste and beauty of colors in the garden is irresistible.

Scroll down to view a guide of which vegetables to plant in your spring and summer garden. I hope that you also enjoy the photo below of one of my homegrown garden harvests for inspiration.

Tomato, pepper, zucchini, cucumber and squash harvest

Which vegetables should you plant for the summer? March -August

  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Eggplant
  • Zucchini
  • Squash (including winter squash which grows in the summer and stores through winter)
  • Pumpkin
  • Cucumber
  • Watermelon
  • Cantaloupe
  • Beans
  • Corn
  • Okra
  • Herbs: Basil and Borage

Happy Gardening Y’all!

Garlic Chive Cream Cheese

Garlic Chive Cream Cheese on an English Muffins

Freshly harvested garlic chives are the perfect hint of onion flavor (no too strong and not too light).

I wanted a savory breakfast. So, I decided to make Garlic Chive Cream Cheese to spread over an English muffin. I paired it with my morning iced mocha. It was delightful!

Freshly harvested Garlic Chives
How to make chive cream cheese

Garlic Chive Cream Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

  • cream cheese
  • chopped garlic chives ( including blooms)

Mix, spread and enjoy!

Planting seeds in between rain showers

It is expected to rain again in a few days. Yay!

Rain in Southern California has been rare these days. We were lucky to get buckets of rain last week and I spent the whole time curled up in a blanket, reading books. It was so cold that I could not get myself to put on my rain boots and get my hands in the dirt.

Today, I though to myself. Hmmm …. now is the perfect time to plant carrot seeds since we are still in the winter with cold nights.

I am really excited to see what the Rainbow (Callope) Blend will look like. Only 64 more days to go!

Planting seeds between rain showers allows seeds to germinate and grow in the planting area with interchanging days of rain and sunshine. In my opinion, it is fascinating to allow nature to grow plants without much human input.

What I love to plant between rain showers during the winter season?

  • carrots
  • lettuce
  • radish
  • peas
  • basil

HOW TO PLANT CARROT SEEDS:

  1. Create shallow rows 1/4 inch deep
  2. Sprinkle seeds in a row
  3. Cover the seeds
  4. Water the seeds in gently…. (so the seeds don’t wash away)

Days to mature: about 57 to 65 days

Tips from the Homegrown Diva: Companion plant carrots near lettuce to deter pests. I would also recommend planting carrots from seeds as carrot seedlings do not perform as well.

Happy gardening Y’all!

Happy Gardening Y’all

Welcome to the Homegrown Diva Blog!

Allow me to introduce myself:

Hi! I am the Homegrown Diva. I love gardening and all things homegrown and DIY.

You may have found me through my @homegrowndiva Instagram and Facebook pages. And now you are here at my blog. Yay!

I fell in love with growing food in 2012. It all started after I learned that many of the vegetables sold in stores, are sprayed with harmful pesticides and grown with genetically modified seeds. I decided to teach myself how to start plants from seeds and grow a home vegetable garden. And a few years ago, I started posting pictures and videos so that I could share my knowledge and joy of gardening with the world.

This will be my new home for posts and updates. Please save the link or subscribe to the blog.

What can you expect from homegrowndiva?

  • Garden updates with pictures and videos
  • Tutorials about growing and garden maintenance
  • Posts about cooking, baking and DIY

I hope this blog will be a resource for you to return to for years to come.

I also hope you enjoy this blogging journey with me!

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Facebook: @homegrowndiva

Instagram: @homegrowndiva

Happy Gardening Y’all!

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