My attempt to document the planting, growth, harvesting, and preserving of our family’s 8000 square feet of garden.
Northeast Iowa Gardening in growing zone 4
Last frost date May15, First frost date September 15
The first week of April welcomed me with crisp mornings and gentle sunshine. The frost has finally left the soil, and the wind and sunshine has dried up the mud in the garden.
Tasks I started:
I didn’t water any of the seeds since there is enough moisture in the soil for germination to happen. It’s important to remember that germination requires very little moisture and too much water can cause seeds to rot since saturated soil has less room for oxygen.
I planted the peas where the corn had been planted last year since corn is a heavy feeder, depleting the soil and peas are a legume, a nitrogen fixer. This means peas are able to take atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into usable ammonia.
Here is my link to SowRight Seeds
Use code: Ruth10 for a discount
A cold frame is a shallow, open-bottomed box with a clear lid—made of glass or plastic—that shields plants from cold, wind, and snow. It functions like a small greenhouse by using sunlight to warm both soil and air inside,
I use my cold frame to start my early, cool weather loving crops like how many people start seedling indoors. I will then transplant these seedlings from the cold frame into the main garden when they are mature enough. Because nighttime temperatures are still going below freezing many nights and soil temperatures are still cool these seedlings are hardy and adjusted from the time they sprout.
I also use my cold frame to help over winter some fall planted lettuce so we can have salads well into the winter.
The earth looks drab and brown; the seeds look dull and dry. Not one seed gives even the tiniest hint of what vibrant life it contains within. Still, my heart is filled with hope and joy as I put them into the earth because I know the transformation that is about to happen. And yet each seed must get pushed beneath the soil into the darkness before it can begin its transformation. I, the gardener, knows the potential of each seed that is why my heart is filled with hope and joy.
What if God sees me like this, when he allows me to be pushed into a dark, cold place. Does he smile and his heart fill with hope and joy like mine does when I garden? Does He smile because He knows my potential to rise from the place of darkness and be transformed to be more like him. To burst forth with new spiritual life and awareness and more Christ-like qualities?
65 Responses
I like this. Even though I am not a gardener at all, I can appreciate what you’re saying, especially the “Reflections” section. God bless you and your family, Ruthann! I watch your videos all the time.
Thank you so much for taking the time for sharing. I enjoy your videos and look foeward to them each week and I liked the email I received this AM. I am physically unable to garden but enjoy seeing others garden and their rewards for their hard work. God bless you, your family and all gardeners.
I love your journaling for us. I too am madly preparing the soil for planting towards the end of May. I live in the high mountain desert and we have a very short growing season. But I think you will understand when I say getting one’s hands in the dirt is so rewarding, even if I can’t plant much yet. Once nights are a little warmer I will get cold crops in the ground. Thanks for this site.
I need to correct
It’s Sow Right Seed…
I put sow true seed… sorry
This is a beautiful idea. 😍
Thank you for sharing everything you do. Your knowledge is amazing.
I love this, RuthAnn.
When I plant my flowers and gardens, I pray each time that whoever lays eyes on it or enjoys the food it provides will come to know the God who created it. For some reason, carrot seeds to me are a perfect example…that a seed that tiny and fragile grows into a huge beautiful carrot below the earth with such gorgeous greenery above…it blows me away everytime!
I’m a central Iowa neighbor and find this so helpful and fun to hear what the neighborhood is up to. Thank you for sharing!
We live in zone 3b-4 southern Alberta, Canada. I am amazed at what you have done already! Weather here has been like a yo-yo, warm and promising then cold and blustery with a negative double digit wind chill. I am loving the longer days and hope to plant some onion sets and carrot seed this Friday in my front yard garden, tucked in between perennials.
I love your seed reflections, Ruthannn….beautiful.❤️
Thank you for this new gardening log. Your reflections touched my heart this morning. I feel blessed to have found your Uribe channel a year ago and have enjoyed reading your book, Heart of the Homestead. My grandparents homes traded in northwestern North Dakota in the 1920’s.
Good morning Mrs. Zimmerman,
It was a pleasure reading your gardening dairy. I live in the city and do not have much space to plant in. However, I retired and I too have a small garden. I have always wanted to be able to plant food for our family and have some to give others. This year the Lord has blessed me with opportunity and health to plant one. I look forward to reading your diary. Hope it continues to be available without having to download it. Unfortunately for some it may be unaffordable. Thank you for all your videos. I would love to be able to learn how to can at least tomatoes. 🌱🪴🫛🫚
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I appreciate you as a whole, you are a blessing to many.
I also appreciate how you give simple, detailed, to the point information. Love your channel as well. God bless you and your family.
Love your reflection
Blessings RuthAnn
Thank you so much for this and putting this in email. I’m grateful for your teachings. They are real…for real time in life.
Do you use Sow true seed for all your seeds….or do you use others as well. Can you please share them. We find it hard to find dependable places…our zones are not far from each other. We are in Holton KS I believe zone 5.
I appreciate you share your preparation steps on what and when you do them.
I’m unable to stay home from work until May of 2027. Then I have more time through my day as I will work 3 hours. I drive a bus. I have summers off and my health is improving for me to do more now. Healing from Adrenal Fatigue now…
I also want to Honor our GOD and am blessed HE has put our paths together…
Thank you Linda
Ruth, the last paragraph was like a spiritual awakening. I had never thought of us being the seeds being sown by God.
Be blessed
We are not blessed with a big garden like yours nor have the ready supply of helpers like you do but I love having a ‘pico de gallo’ garden of tomatoes, onions and jalapeños. And I’m challenged by your ready references to apply our spiritual life as a garden for God. Thank you for your You Tube channel-my husband and I love it!
You made my Day ,Thank you so much for your inspiration and all your knowledge about gardening .😇
Thank you for sharing this blog. This gives me so many ideas of starting to use a cold frame. And the analogy of God pushing us into dark places similar to seeds being planted will always be a reminder when I’m in that dark place that I do still have potential and will also thrive! Your blogs brighten my day, I look forward to seeing you at the Homesteading Conference in June in Ohio!
So excited to follow along with you! I love seeing how you do things, it gives me ideas of how to do things that Im not sure about but have had on my radar to try. I also just love the peacefull space you have, you radiate the fathers love in all that you do.
I love your apology of the seeds. We have potential for growth and that is what we are meant to do while in this life. It can be scary and overwhelming, but our Heavenly Father is always there to help us and watch over us. Just as you do with your garden seeds.
Thank you RuthAnn for sharing this. I keep a garden diary each year as a word document on my computer. It’s helpful in seeing ways I can improve our garden and what worked well. It also gives me a written list of seeds and supplies we’ve purchased which is great, since my memory isn’t as good as I’d like. The diary also helps keep me on track as seeing the progress makes me want to keep going. You inspire me to try new things and remember that God is in control, not me. Thy will be done.
Love the gardening blog!
Thank you. Im from north of Minneapolis in zone 4b, similar to yours. Im a gardener,canner as well. We made your Hawaiian buns for Easter. I have your book and enjoy listening to you. My ancestors were mennonites but not old order. They became believes in Jesus so my Dad was a pastor and we lived very near you. I was born in Charles City.
Im starting plants inside and a few in a cold frame. Im 75 and love God’s gifts He gives us. You are one of those.
Your last sentence made me smile really big, how sweet, and true.
Hi Ruthann, I love your analogy of the seed in the darkness and our being in the darkness for Him to bring us out.
My last frost date is April 15 so I have started much in my garden. I look forward to seeing all the beauty from the garden. To me it’s all a reflection of God’s work. Best regards.
💖💖love this! I keep a garden journal as well. I was motivated to plant peas, onions, beets and radishes this week. There is no snow on Mica Peak ~ this is the “old-timers” gauge for planting in our North Idaho area😁😁
Beautiful Ruth Ann, I love the last paragraph. Here in Buffalo, I also am waiting for our soil to warm up a bit so I can start my planting. My seedlings didn’t do anything this year, so I’m forced to buy some starts, but soon I will also put them out. God is Good. His will be done. Let’s enjoy this season of planting and waiting for all to bloom. God Bless you and your family.