What’s Growing at Sunnyhill This Month
This past month has been full; unexpected weather shifts (and what felt like never ending late-night checks on the forecast), planting, filling hundreds of free seed requests, and organizing and tending to all our seedlings for our annual seedling sale.
But as I walked through our garden this morning, barefoot with coffee in hand, I realized: it's happening. Everything we worked towards all spring is starting to take root - quite literally.
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| The entrance of our backyard gardens. New tomato trellises pictured to the left and right of the arbour. Hardy kiwi vine climbing up right side of the arbour. |
The Garden Beds Are Filling In
The tomatoes are in and settling well. We have a few different varieties to try for the first time this year including the absolutely gorgeous 'Ananase Noire' and the adorable 'Baby Roma'. I’m crossing my fingers the weather will finally be on our side and Late Blight won't become a concern.
We have over 120 tomato plants thriving so far, thanks to the addition of a new trellising system for our in-ground garden beds and some aged manure purchased from a local farm.
Our kale is looking especially proud and our cucumbers are already sending off new growth even though the late, unexpected frosts of spring hit them quite hard (we did lose a few).
Beans have gone in, both transplanted and directly sown and our multi-sown lettuce has been loving the shadier side of our garden, helping to extend its season immensely.
There’s something so satisfying about watching these plants take off - not because they’re perfect (they never are), but because they remind me how far a little time and attention can go.
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| One of our determinate tomato beds topped with fresh compost. |
One of my favourite areas of our gardens are the spaces we’ve planted for the bees, butterflies, and all their pollinating friends. The self seeded calendula is immense already, and the borage is soon to be blooming and acting like the magnet it is, attracting every flying insect in the yard.
These parts of the garden always remind me that growing food isn’t just about us. We’re part of a much bigger picture - and even something as small as a bloom can make a really big difference.
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| One of our beautiful & blossoming broad leaf sage plants with a visiting bumble bee. |
Seedling Sales & Swaps
If you purchased some of our soil blocked seedlings this year - thank you! It fills me such joy seeing people leave with cardboard flats of plants, knowing how much plastic we have saved from our world and how many garden's we are helping to grow! I especially love when customers message me weeks later with updates, questions or a success story!
The crop swap has also been such a beautiful way to connect with our local community. If you haven't yet heard, we started a new Facebook group Crop Swap - Cambridge where the focus will always be community sustainability. Having only a small space to grow won't stop our members from sharing and swapping with one another!
There’s something so hopeful, rewarding and important about trading and sharing with your neighbours & community - a little give, a little receive, and a whole lot of growing together. Please check it out if you haven't already!
Watch our Video Here Explaining our Soil Blocked Seedlings!
June Garden Update is Here!
Click here to watch our latest garden tour and take a look at what’s blooming and thriving here at Sunnyhill Homestead!
Our garden’s far from flawless - and that’s the point. The real joy comes from the messy bits, the unexpected wins, and everything we learn along the way.
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| Climbing rose previous owners of our home planted. Unsure of the variety, but I happily tend to it yearly. |
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be continuing to prune many of our tomatoes, top dressing some beds with fresh municipal compost, and striving to stay ahead of the intense summer heats that are soon to arrive.
The kids are already asking when we’ll start picking the flush of peas that's due to arrive next week, and I’ve got a mental note to finally thin out & weed a section of our carrots that will bring us delicious, crisp sweetness during our beautiful fall days.
I'm gearing up to lead the third workshop in a four-part series for a local not for profit (more details on that soon!), and I am so excited to see it all come together!
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| Myself (Sarah) during the 1st of a 4 part series of workshops planned for a local not for profit. Photos in background blurred for privacy. |
What’s growing in your little patch of the world?
Leave a comment or message/tag us @thesunnyhillhomestead on Instagram — we’d love to see what’s growing in your garden, on your balcony, or even just on your windowsill!
Here’s to dirty hands, growing roots, and slow, steady progress 🌿
With Love,
Sarah & The Sunnyhill Homestead Family
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