Backyard Gardening With Sam

08/29/2026

A little late-night harvest! 🌙🍅🥒 Our bunny wanted a late-night snack—and honestly, so did I! We picked a couple of cherry tomatoes, one whole tomato, and a fresh cucumber straight from the garden. Such a simple, refreshing, and delicious late-night snack! 🐰🌱

08/26/2026

Go stand by your basil before the light is gone tonight. Look at the very top of the plant.

If you find a slim spike forming there, cone-shaped, paler than the leaves, your basil has decided summer is closing. Bolting is the plant's own calendar entry. Cooler nights and shortening days tell it to stop making leaves and start making seeds, and once it flowers, the leaves go sparse and bitter.

The rescue takes ten seconds. Pinch the spike off just above a pair of leaves and the plant goes back to leaf-making for weeks more. Do it every few evenings and you will still be cutting pesto basil in late September.

Tonight is just the check. Spike or no spike, your basil has already cast its vote on the season. Worth knowing which way it went. 🌿

08/20/2026

Let’s see what the garden has to offer today! 🌱🧑‍🌾 Every time I step outside, there’s always something new to discover—whether it’s a fresh bloom, a vegetable getting bigger, or something finally ready to harvest. Gardening is always full of little surprises, so come along with me and let’s see what we can find today! 🍅🥒🌶️🌸💚

08/18/2026

Ever actually looked at an okra flower before it becomes a pod?

Go look this week, and go in the morning, because each bloom only holds one day. What you'll find is a hibiscus. Cream yellow, red at the throat, the same silk trumpet the tropical hedges brag about. Okra is a mallow, and its family reunion includes hollyhocks, cotton, and the marsh mallow plant that named the candy.

The gumbo pot and the beach resort hedge, first cousins. The garden keeps its jokes in plain sight. 🌺

08/14/2026

Part 2 of my cantaloupe journey! 🍈🧑‍🌾

After picking it, we let it chill in the refrigerator for a little while. Now it’s finally time to cut into it and enjoy! The taste was definitely worth the wait, and honestly, I can’t wait to grow more! 😋🌱

Thank you all for being patient with me! With our girls going back to school and our family adjusting to a new routine at home, things are finally starting to settle down. Now I can slowly get back into my gardening! 💚

08/03/2026

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Happy National Watermelon Day, August 3rd, 2026

08/03/2026

I was just out doing my normal morning routine—watering the garden—when I walked up to my cantaloupe and my heart DROPPED. 😳🍈

It had completely detached from the vine!

At first I thought, “Oh no…” but then I remembered that ripe cantaloupes often naturally “slip” off the vine when they’re ready. 🤞 When I smelled the stem, I got that sweet melon scent, and the outside color looks so good!

Now comes the moment of truth… 👀

We’ll be cutting into it later today to find out if growing cantaloupe on a trellis was a success this year! Stay tuned because I honestly can’t wait to see if it’s perfectly ripe! 🍈💚

Have you ever had a cantaloupe detach from the vine on its own? Did it end up being sweet? Let me know in the comments! 👇

08/01/2026

Little by little, the garden keeps giving. 🌱💚 Feeling so grateful for another beautiful harvest! 🧺✨

07/30/2026

🍉 The moment we’ve been waiting for… we finally cut into our homegrown watermelon! 🤩

Plot twist… I was so sure it was going to be RED, but I must’ve accidentally transplanted my yellow variety instead! 😂💛 What a surprise!

Honestly, I call this a double win. Not only did we successfully grow our very first yellow watermelon, but I think we picked it at the PERFECT time too! 🌱💛

Who else would’ve been shocked cutting into a yellow watermelon? 😍🍉