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I cook the food, @murph.adam shakes the drinks. I grow the veggies, he grows the fruit.
NW Suburban Chicago, IL, Zone 5b 🌈🫘🍄🍅

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I think I might have accidentally joined a cult. The bean collecting cult. 🫘
Last year, I grew exactly one type of dry bean. But as a vegetarian, my goal was to become more self-sufficient and actually grow the protein I eat most often. I wanted to stop relying on the grocery store for staples.
Mission accomplished.
From a gardening perspective, dry beans are the ultimate "lazy" harvest. Unlike snap beans (green beans) that you have to pick every single day before they get tough, you just let these hang out on the vine until the pods get crispy. The plant basically does the food preservation for you, packing all that energy and nutrition into a shelf-stable seed.
Thanks to the encouragement of @westrivergarden's #drybeanjanuary and the #beanbabes, I went from a novice to growing this whole rainbow in one season.
Which one of these should I turn into soup first?

#heirloombeans #growyourownfood #chicagogardener by @jencaputomurphy

391

7 months ago

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Proof that the garden doesn't stop working just because you're on vacation! 😉 We just got back from a lovely trip to Michigan (where I snagged this perfect basket for $1.50 thrifting with my mom!), and this full-spectrum rainbow was our welcome home committee. 🌈
Let's talk color! We've got:
* Red: Juicy Montmorency cherries, adorable Christmas Tree micro tomatoes, a sweet strawberry, and the inaugural pick of our raspberries!
* Orange: Micro tomatoes Laura #5 and Golden Hour, plus cheerful calendula.
* Yellow: Micro tomatoes Boka, Hahms Gelbe, and a very yellow Vilma (plot twist: it's supposed to be red! 😂), calendula, and pansies.
* Green: Fragrant mint, chives, fresh dill, the last hurrah for our sugar snap peas, and yes, those are black garbanzos!
* Blue: Our abundant honeyberries and pretty borage flowers.
* Indigo: Deep, dark Black Cap raspberries and beautiful purple ruffles basil.
* Violet: A sleek Chinese string eggplant, delightful Goumi berries, and more pansies.

What colors are currently dominating your garden's palette?

#GardenHarvest #RainbowHarvest #FreshFromTheGarden #EdibleGarden #GrowYourOwnFood #UrbanGardening #Zone5bGardening #SuburbanGardening #EatTheRainbow #MidwestGardening by @jencaputomurphy

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a year ago

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It's spring! Which means we're harvesting fun things and I'm welcoming new friends. I am so happy you are here. I'm Jen, that's my husband, @murph.adam - he makes the most amazing garden-to-glass cocktails you'll ever see. We're both geeky engineers by day and cultivate our permaculture-light food forest in the rest of our spare time. We carve out a few hours every month for indie rock concerts with a special affinity for our favorites from the 2000s.

This year we're growing more tomatoes, peppers, beans, and squash than we've ever grown. We've got several new berries that should be fruiting for the first time (Jostaberry! Goumi berry! Pink currant! Amethyst raspberry!) If it can be grown in suburban Chicago, we are willing to give it a go. We're most proud of our "monster" maypop passion fruit vine which provides us with hundreds of fruits every year.

In this pic we've just harvested a ton of spinach, a few cabbage leaves, mint, lovage, rhubarb, radishes, chive blossoms.

I just told you a lot about us so tell me a few things about you 🥰

#meetthegardener #gardener #chicagogardener #homegarden #backyardgarden #illinoiszone5b #illinoisgarden #zone5b #zone5bgardening #urbangarden #midwestgardener by @jencaputomurphy

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122

a year ago

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Now that we are all starting fabulous tomato harvests, it’s time to start planning for the @twineandtrellis Rare Tomato Seed Swap!

A few exciting changes are coming… stay tuned.

One to plan for now is that this year’s swap is going to require you send Two (or more) varieties per person to join. Some will say that’s doubly hard. I say it’s doubly delicious!

So, just a friendly reminder to start your seed saving. This is the only rare tomato seed swap of its kind on Instagram or Facebook, and I would love for YOU to participate!

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-#tomato #seeds #seedswap #garden #twineandtrellis taken in Denver, Colorado by @jencaputomurphy

115

a day ago

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Yes, you can absolutely grow passionfruit in the midwest. Maypops (Passiflora incarnata) are native as far north as Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. They are incredibly low maintenance, but placement matters! We keep ours sandwiched between our house and an asphalt driveway. The extra heat helps them survive our zone 5b winters and wake up early in the spring.

Just remember my warning in the video. Do not plant these in the ground unless you want them to spread everywhere. They are more aggressive than mint.

If you are local to the Chicago area and want to start your own tropical oasis, send me a DM. I have a very small batch of seedlings available from my original Peaceful Heritage Nursery stock. You will need two for cross pollination!

Have you ever tasted a maypop before? Let me know in the comments! by @jencaputomurphy

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105

3 days ago

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Leaving the garden for 17 days in the middle of summer felt like a massive gamble, but coming home to a huge harvest made all the prep work worth it. Here is exactly what I did before I packed my bags.

1. Picked all the mature lettuce. It would have bolted and gone to seed in the hot sun anyway, so it was better to enjoy it fresh.
2. Stashed kale and broccoli leaves in the freezer. Blanching them first stops the enzymes that break down flavor, keeping them perfect for winter soups.
3. Evicted the bug-targeted brassicas and planted bush beans. Clearing out the plants that were covered in cabbage moths removed the pest pressure and let me get in a quick crop of beans.
4. Pulled the garlic crop early. Waiting for the perfect harvest window is risky if you are traveling. Split wrappers mean soil diseases can easily ruin your stored bulbs.
5. Aggressively pruned the tomatoes. I cleared out the lower foliage to improve airflow and sanitized my snips with rubbing alcohol after every cut to prevent spreading early blight.
6. Protected the cabbages with shade cloth. Cool weather crops stop growing when they get too hot, so artificial shade keeps them happy and growing.
7. Moved un-irrigated pots into a shady spot together. Shifting them out of the baking sun slows down evaporation, and hooking them up to a timer sprinkler kept them alive.
8. Rigged a solar bucket pump for the deck plants. It automatically waters the containers that are too heavy to move into the main garden area.
9. Inspected the entire drip irrigation system. Finding and patching small tears ensures the water actually goes to the roots instead of flooding the pathways.
10. Left a visual Google Doc guide. Having a neighbor pop by every five days is a lifesaver, but giving them specific pictures eliminates any confusion.

Do you have a trip planned this summer? Tell me your vacation garden strategy below by @jencaputomurphy

307

6 days ago

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There is nothing more satisfying than a post-vacation garden haul. Adam and I just got back from 2+ weeks in Portugal and England. We had an amazing trip, but wow, the garden completely took over while we were gone. It is a total jungle out there right now.

The air quality in Chicago is pretty rough today. So I just grabbed what I could and retreated back inside. I am completely ignoring the out of control squash and tomato vines until the air clears up tomorrow. For today, my only plan is figuring out how to cook up this mountain of eggplant and summer squash. I also plan on doing a little tomato taste test. I finally got my first big ripe tomato of the season. It is a White Heart of Sophia and I cannot wait to cut into it.

I've missed you all, I have so many questions. What have y'all been up to? What have I missed? What are you harvesting? What is your absolute favorite way to use up a huge harvest of summer squash?

Drop me a comment and let me know! Harvest baskets with eggplant, peppers, summer squash, tomatoes, and more. by @jencaputomurphy

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130

7 days ago

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We tend to think we need to baby every single seed, but it is just not true. Take this Sea Kale. People say it is a nightmare to germinate. Instead of coddling it, I put the seeds in a snail, shoved them in a milk jug, and let the snow do the rest.

I left the snail tucked in the garden bed so the roots could grow directly into the soil and access nutrients. I only got two plants, but they are huge and healthy. That is all I have room for anyway.

I have to give credit where credit is due. The winter sowing method is from Trudi Davidoff. The seed snail method is from @faridasober . And Frankie Lou Fuller had the brilliant idea to combine them into these "snugs."

Have you tried this super lazy method of seed sowing yet! by @jencaputomurphy

237

20 days ago

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Nature operates on its own schedule. These wine caps, snow oysters, and blue oysters decided late June was their perfect time to shine. I used @northsporemushrooms Plant and Grow blocks for the oysters. They make the whole process incredibly easy because the blocks come fully colonized and ready to go. You just bury them in some straw and wait.

I expected a spring harvest from my snow oyster block. When that failed, I just left the bag under my plum tree. The blue oyster block was an old indoor winter project that I rehydrated and tossed outside too. You do not need a perfect setup to be successful. These blocks are very forgiving. Even if the harvest doesn't happen right when you expect it, the mushrooms are still working. You just give them the raw materials and let nature take over.

Comment SURPRISE and I will send you my complete mushroom guide plus a discount code for 10% off your entire North Spore order so you can try this yourself. by @jencaputomurphy

323

25 days ago

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Stop leaving the space under your crops empty! I have been using this mushroom mulch technique for 3 years and it is absolutely my favorite way to get more out of my garden. By adding a 3 to 4 inch layer of straw mixed with mushroom spawn to your grow bags, you get a double harvest in the exact same footprint. The straw retains moisture and the mycelium feeds the plant roots. Plus you get delicious mushrooms right from the garden. And this is not just for tomatoes. You can do this under peppers, potatoes, or any long growing crop! I plant Pink oysters for fast summer harvests and Blue or Italian oysters for later in the season because they prefer different temperatures.

Comment OYSTER and I will send you the link to my complete step by step guide. I will also include my code so you can get 10% off your mushroom spawn from @northsporemushrooms . Have you ever tried growing mushrooms before? by @jencaputomurphy

15k

a month ago

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Your garden is a battlefield and you have allies you might not even know about. We all panic a little when pests show up. But nature usually has a plan.

Before you grab the bug spray, take a really close look at your plants. You might see green lacewing eggs or ladybug larvae hard at work. You might spot a hoverfly pupa resting after its larva stage spent days devouring aphids. You might even see a swollen, tan "zombie aphid." That means tiny parasitic wasps have moved in to help you out.

These beneficial insects rely on aphids for food and reproduction. By spraying, you accidentally kill the very bugs trying to help you.

Patience is the hardest part of organic gardening. Just give the cavalry a little time to do their job!

Have you seen any members of this crew in your garden?

#gardenpests #midwestgardener #ladybugs #organicpestcontrol #gardenhacks by @jencaputomurphy

577

a month ago

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$When @faridasober introduced the seed snail method, she gave us an amazing way to grow strong plants with great root systems in tiny spaces. But my absolute favorite part is the cleanup. It cuts wash day down to a fraction of what it used to be, and we no longer have to hoard massive stacks of plastic pots in the basement, garage, or shed. Washing flat, smooth pieces of soil bags takes barely any time at all compared to scrubbing hundreds of flimsy pots with all those ridges where dirt loves to hide. Comment SNAIL and I will send you a link to my seed starting guide that documents my experiences with seed snails! by @jencaputomurphy$

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396

a month ago

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Jen Caputo | Organic Growing in Zone 5b

@jencaputomurphy

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