As we transition from spring’s gentle awakening into summer’s full-throttled growth, our community garden transforms into a living testament to nature’s incredible generosity. The tiny seeds we planted just months ago become thriving plants heavy with produce, flowers bursting with colour, and buzzing ecosystems that support countless beneficial creatures. Summer is the season when all our careful tending pays off in the most spectacular way.
🌿 The Journey from Seed to Harvest
There’s something deeply magical about witnessing the complete cycle from seed to harvest. Those tiny seedlings many of you started in spring will now start providing fresh produce, while these pollinator patches we created are alive with butterflies, bees, and beneficial insects. This transformation reminds us that patience and consistent care yield the most rewarding results.
Celebrating Growth Milestones
- Document your plants’ weekly progress with photos
- Keep a harvest journal noting quantities and varieties
- Share “then and now” photos in our WhatsApp group
- Celebrate your first tomato, cucumber, or flower bloom – tag us @living_vital !
🍅 Maximizing Your Summer Growing Success
Summer’s abundance comes from understanding how to work with the season’s intense energy and longer days.
Water Wisdom for Hot Days
Summer watering requires a shift from spring’s gentle approach:
- Water deeply but less frequently to encourage strong root systems
- Early morning watering (before 8am) reduces evaporation and plant stress
- Watering early (instead of evening)
- reduces nighttime moisture and reduces slugs!!
- Mulch around plants with straw, grass clippings, or shredded leaves
- Install simple drip irrigation systems using repurposed plastic bottles
- Group plants with similar water needs together
Succession Planting for Continuous Harvest
Keep your harvest flowing throughout summer:
- Plant lettuce and herbs every 2-3 weeks
- Sow quick-growing crops like radishes in empty spaces
- Replace finished spring crops with heat-loving summer varieties
- Try different varieties of the same vegetable for extended seasons
Supporting Heavy Producers
As plants grow larger and more productive, they need extra support:
- Stake tomatoes and peppers before they get too heavy
- Create trellises for climbing beans and cucumbers
- Thin fruit on heavily loaded branches to prevent breakage
- Regular harvesting encourages continued production
🥒 Preserving Summer’s Bounty
Summer’s generosity often overwhelms us with more produce than we can eat fresh. Learning preservation techniques helps us enjoy our harvest year-round while reducing waste.
Simple Preservation Methods
Freezing
- Blanch vegetables like beans, peas, and leafy greens before freezing
- Freeze herbs in ice cube trays with water or olive oil
- Prepare and freeze homemade pesto, soups, and sauces
- Freeze berries on trays before transferring to containers
Drying and Dehydrating
- Air-dry herbs by hanging bundles in a warm, dry place
- Create herb salts by mixing dried herbs with coarse sea salt
- Sun-dry tomatoes on screens in hot, dry weather
- Dehydrate excess vegetables for winter soups and stews
Fermentation and Pickling
- Quick-pickle surplus cucumbers, beans, and carrots
- Try simple sauerkraut with excess cabbage
- Ferment excess garlic scapes for a probiotic condiment
- Preserve seasonal abundance in vinegar-based solutions
Community Preservation Projects
Join others for larger preservation projects:
- Organize communal canning sessions for bulk processing
- Share equipment like dehydrators and large pots
- Exchange preservation recipes and techniques
- Create community “preserving parties” with music and shared meals
🌻 Creating Abundant Ecosystems
Summer abundance isn’t just about vegetables – it’s about creating thriving ecosystems that support wildlife and beneficial insects.
Supporting Beneficial Insects
Your spring pollinator patches are now in full swing:
- Maintain continuous blooms by *deadheading spent flowers
- Add summer-blooming natives like echinacea and black-eyed Susan
- Keep shallow water sources topped up during hot weather
- Avoid pesticides to protect beneficial insect populations
- Create habitat diversity with plants of different heights and textures
*I’ve been deadheading the roses in my garden! This means cutting the stems at the first leaf once the rose has died. This encourages new growth 🙂
Encouraging Natural Pest Control
Let beneficial insects handle pest problems naturally:
- Plant companion flowers that attract predatory insects
- Encourage birds with water sources and native plants
- Practice crop rotation to break pest cycles
- Use physical barriers like row covers when needed
- Embrace some imperfection – a few holes in leaves means a healthy ecosystem
🤝 Sharing Summer’s Abundance
One of the greatest joys of abundant harvests is sharing with our community.
Community Sharing Initiatives
- Bring surplus produce to our weekly Thursday sessions
- Participate in our Saturday harvest shares every other week
- Contribute to the community herb and flower cutting garden
- Share preserving knowledge and equipment with neighbors
Teaching and Learning Together
Summer is perfect for skill-sharing:
- Lead mini-workshops on preservation techniques you’ve mastered
- Share your most successful growing tips during garden sessions
- Document and share seasonal recipes featuring fresh produce
- Mentor newcomers in harvesting and plant care techniques
Connecting Beyond the Garden
- Host community meals featuring garden produce
- Create gift baskets of preserved goods for special occasions
- Participate in local farmers markets or community events
- Share your abundance with local food banks and community kitchens
*Use our social / events whatsapp group within the Community Whatsapp to arrange gatherings outside of the garden!
🌱 Getting Started with Summer Abundance
Choose one area to focus on this week:
- Set up a simple preservation station in your kitchen
- Start succession planting for continuous harvest
- Join our next community preservation workshop
- Begin documenting your harvest journey in photos
Weekly Summer Activities
Join us for hands-on learning:
JULY
Thursday 3rd July
Saturday 5th July
🔔NO SESSION THURS 10th JULY
Thursday 17th July
Saturday 19th July
Thursday 24th July
Thursday 31st July
AUGUST
Saturday 2nd Aug
Thursday 7th Aug
Thursday 14th Aug
Saturday 16th Aug
Thursday 21st Aug
Thursday 28th Aug
Saturday 30th Aug
Stay Connected
Share your summer abundance journey:
- Post harvest photos in our WhatsApp group
- Tag us @living_vital on Instagram with your preservation experiments
- Join our Facebook community for recipe exchanges and tips
🌿 Embracing the Rhythm of Abundance
Summer abundance teaches us about generosity, sharing, and the cyclical nature of growth. As we harvest the fruits of our spring planting, we’re also planting seeds for future seasons – both literally and metaphorically. The skills we develop, the relationships we build, and the knowledge we share during these abundant months create the foundation for years of successful growing.
Remember, abundance isn’t just about quantity – it’s about the richness of experience, the depth of community connection, and the joy of participating in nature’s generous cycles. Every tomato picked, every flower shared, and every preservation technique learned adds to our collective knowledge and strengthens our community bonds.
As summer unfolds, let’s celebrate not just what we’re harvesting, but how we’re growing as gardeners, community members, and stewards of the earth. The seeds of this summer’s abundance will nourish us through winter and inspire next spring’s plantings.
Ready to dive deeper into summer abundance? Join us at Living Vital Community Garden for our weekly sessions, or follow along with our daily inspiration on Instagram @living_vital. New to our community? We’d love to welcome you – sign up for your first session and discover the joy of growing together.
Sending love & abundance for the season ahead! 🌱✨