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
What a lovely Christian analogy for gardening!
I enjoy your YouTube channel immensely. I now garden with renewed enthusiasm and we have ordered a side of beef (to share with another family).
Thank you for all you’re doing.
My planting journal is nothing like this, I need to work on that! I love how you remind me in even the little task in the beginning, we give him the glory. God is great!
Ruthanne,
I very much enjoyed reading your garden journal with reflections. Looking forward to week 2. My husband and I recently retired and moved to Missouri where we are looking to buy a home with some acreage so we can have chickens, a vegetable garden, and can what we grow. Plus, I think the grandkids would love the chickens when they come to visit. Thanks to your YouTube I have learned to preserve more than just jams and tomatoes. You are an inspiration. Thank you.
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?
Wow! absolutely love theses thoughts. Thank you for sharing your reflections. Blessings to you and your endeavors.
Thank you Ruthann, I enjoy reading your posts.
Beautifully written Reflection and the rest… so much work!!! No wonder you haven’t kept a journal before and I admire you for doing this with all the other things you do. Keeping it to honor God in your life is inspiring! I am sure He is smiling 😊
I’m excited to get started on my tiny patio garden. I bought a large Vego planter I can’t wait to get started digging into. This is your happy time and it’s infectious. I do miss seeing you each morning since leaving IG, but you are waiting for me on YouTube always.
Thanks for the last paragraph! Heading to Crete 5-21, and I will post during my vacation on IG. Love to all the Zimmermans! God bless ✝️
Thank you, RuthAnn, for sharing your journey with us. I LOVE the analogy of seeds -> gardener -> God!!
Thank you for sharing your journey in the garden. Crab grass reminds me of the sin that can creep into our lives. It always needs to be dealt with! Isn’t it wonderful that we have the Master Gardener to help us keep sin at bay as long as we stay in Him? If we ask Him in our hearts and yield our will to His, He will create a beautiful and bountiful garden in our lives!
This sounds like a great start to the gardening season.
Ruth, your details if why you do the early prep and hopes for an abundant harvest are wonderful and inspiring. But, your reflection on how we may be seen like the seeds to our LORD is such a reminder of perseverance and promise. He is always there waiting for us to grow. Thank you so much.
love this! simple inspiration is the best
Love this! I’m actually keeping a garden journal of sorts this year for the first time, and documenting it with photos (when I remember!). For the first time, I’m tending a raised-bed garden at home as well as in-ground at my father-in-law’s. He is a wonderful gardener but at 94, no longer has the stamina to do all of it himself. He is a wealth of knowledge and experience and is helping me do better at gardening. I loved all of your garden tour videos from last summer.
Just finishing listening (and backing up and re-listening) to the audio version of your book. I’ve also been a gardener for many years yet your book taught me so much! I especially love Chapter 7 (on frugality) because it gives a perspective that I was unaware of – a practical description of how things were done by your grandmother and how you’re being frugal these days. Thank you also for the recipes for food and cleaning supplies! I’ll need to back up again, listen and write them down.
Your last paragraph in your Garden Diary rings true. God wastes nothing and uses everything for His purpose. The miracle of planting seeds never ceases to be an amazing thing to me. As you said, their dull and dry appearance ‘covers’ the beautiful and mysterious potential life inside – which only the Lord produces.
Your words have moved me incredibly Ruth Ann. What you say here gives so so much comfort. I feel we were all meant to hear this message through you. Bless you and your family. 🪴🍅🪴
Oh Ruthann, this so nice of you to take the time to do this! I’m really gonna enjoy these posts! You’ve given me good food for thought on your spiritual post! Now for the food for the body…… Could you please post more about what you mean by wintering fall planted lettuce in your cold frame? I also did not know this about corn and peas. I knew I was going to rotate a crop into the corn spot and now I know what I’m gonna put there! Thank you and Blessings!
Dear Ruthann,
Your “Reflections” really spoke to me. I have been through a difficult 2 years with a misdiagnosed cancer and then a correct cancer diagnosis, followed by a major abdominal surgery and chemo in 2024. Then in 2025 I had to have another major abdominal surgery which has taken me about 5 months to recover to the point of having more energy and starting to feel somewhat normal. Praise the Lord he healed me of the cancer and is now slowly healing me from the last surgery – Praise his name forever!! Through both recoveries from the surgeries, I still continued to plant my garden, albeit I did have to buy my early starts as opposed to starting them myself but planting the garden, followed by harvesting and preserving was all part of the mental healing. So, in reading this part of your “Reflections”:
“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?”
I was immediately hit with the question; “Lord, did you have that confidence in me that I would rise from those places of darkness, and in doing so be transformed and molded to be more like you?” After pondering that question, I spoke to him and asked; “Lord, please continue to bless me with new spiritual awareness as I continue to walk this path of healing and help me develop more and more of your son’s qualities so that others will see it and want to know what the source of those qualities are. Continue to increase my faith in you as I continue to take baby steps towards total healing!”
Thank you Ruthann for sharing that perspective of our Father’s love for us!! I am SO looking forward to starting some of my own seeds this week (Zone 6b in Virginia) as well as supplementing with some locally bought starts. God is SO gracious to us!!
I LOVE your God reflection/comparison at the end, it’s my favorite part of the post!! Of course, I enjoy the rest of the information too, but this is really what we all need to hear and has such eternal impact!! ❤️
Thank you for this and for sharing your reflections! It was inspiring and a wonderful word of wisdom!
Love this new venture- and especially love your reflection… To God be the glory!
Ruthann. I had my husband watch the cast iron YouTube video, he then sanded all my new cast iron. This morning I had fried eggs in the large pan and he was shocked. We both thank you. The struggle was real until I watched that video… Thank you have a blessed day!!!
Good morning Ruth Ann. I love watching your videos and have learned so much from you and I know you have inspired many. You have a beautiful family and I can see by your love for them and your actions you a wonderful wife and mother and you love God very much. I pray he continues to give you the grace to continue all that you desire in your heart.
Although I’m not in your country, I found this really interesting and a useful reminder. I hope that your intentions are rewarded. Thank you for your time to put out your information I really find it useful and am grateful for that and sharing some every day aspects of your life. Gratitude!
Your content ( especially YouTube) has helped me stay sane as my health is poor and my chances to go out are limited. I’m reminded of when I could garden, etc. Blessings!
I LOVE this! So well said, I also planted my seeds and started others in my amazing little green house my husband built for me. we don’t have garden ground but we plant in containers and boxes. I look forward to the next post. God has gifted you with writing as one of your many gifts.
God Bless