How to garden during a Michigan summer
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A selection of produce from the greenhouse over the summer. Photos: Everett Cook/Axios
👋 Everett here. Longtime Axios-heads might remember that I wanted to learn how to garden after moving back to Michigan last year.
- So I asked for your advice, "helped" my brother and fiancée build a greenhouse and then got to work.
Why it matters: I've never been great about eating my veggies, and I am also a person who struggles keeping his weight at a healthy level.
- The experiment was simple: Will spending time growing food lead to a healthier, less dependent-on-the-system diet?
What happened: Turns out, I'm much more willing to eat a green bean if I spend weeks growing it first.
- I'll never have a diet like Tom Brady's due to a fervent love of chicken wings, but for the first time post-pandemic, I feel like I'm on the right track.
I had success growing:
- 🍅 Tomatoes (Campari, Early Girl and Chocolate Cherry)
- 🌶 Peppers (jalapeño and serrano)
- 🌿 Herbs (cilantro, basil and parsley)
- 🍓 Fresca strawberries
- 🌱 Green beans
- 🥬 Kale
Plus, seeding a dirt patch next to the greenhouse resulted in an explosion of wildflowers that became home to bees and other insects.
I completely failed at growing:
- ⛔️ Squash
- 🥒 Cucumbers
- 🍅 Beefsteak tomatoes
What's next: Garlic, bell peppers and carrots go into the greenhouse next year, with more planter boxes outside of it for milkweed, sunflowers and other pollinating plants.
📬 On a gardening journey and want to share how your year went? Or have tips? Email [email protected] and let us know. Your answer might be featured in a future newsletter.