Our Organic Backyard Garden in NJ.
- meghankennedy
- Jun 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 12
Our DIY, Backyard Organic Garden featuring upcycled materials, homemade compost, and vegetables started from seed packets in Florence, NJ, Zone 6B.
Welcome to our Organic Backyard Garden in NJ! Featuring upcycled materials, homemade compost, flowers, and organic vegetables in Florence, NJ, Zone 6B.
What started indoors as microgreens and herbs in Weehawken and Titusville, NJ, turned into a full-fledged backyard garden when we planted roots in Florence, NJ, in 2021.
We watched tons of YouTube videos, read books and magazines, and fell in love with the art of gardening together. Most of our garden starts from seed packets indoors, moving out to the greenhouse at the top of spring with direct seeding of cool-weather crops after the last snap of winter.
We fill in the gaps in June when we really get rocking and rolling - spreading out our compost, expanding the posts, and dusting off the garden hose (which is Asher's absolute favorite)!
We practice regenerative farming, encouraging the entire ecosystem to work together to produce a bountiful harvest. I learned a lot about regenerative farming firsthand while volunteering at Rancocas Creek Farm at Pinelands Preservation Alliance in Southampton Twp, NJ.
Our homemade compost is a year of saving banana peels, veggie and fruit scraps, egg shells, and used coffee grounds to mix with backyard leaves, mulch, and garden scraps. This is how we craft our compost each year and we top the beds with a layer of clean, biodegradable cardboard boxes to serve as a chemical-free weed barrier.
All our beds are constructed with upcycled materials (from nature, trash picked, given to us, etc.), and slowly over time, we've been able to purchase posts, fencing, cages, and tools.
Most things around here are secondhand, and our backyard is no exception. We keep every single fruit container, plastic cup, or pot - even toilet paper rolls we use to start seeds in.
As Ryan says, it's a labor of love backed by science. We sit down and strategically plan where every single plant goes in our garden, mixing flowers in between food to attract pollinators and deter bugs. We do not use any chemical or harmful products on our food or flowers.
Our Organic Garden includes: Garlic, Arugula, Lettuce, Spinach, Radishes, Strawberries, Beets, Bok Choy, Peas, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions, Cabbage, Lemon Grass, Potatoes, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Sage, Parsley, Dill, Chives, Mint, Lavender, Cilantro, Eggplant, Cucumbers, Ivy, Citronella and Coleus.
Flowers include: Nasturtiums, Marigolds, Sunflowers, Roses, Hydrangeas, Snap Dragons, Zinnias, Daisies, Sweet Williams, Gladioli, Petunias, Foxglove, Wax Begonia, and Lobelia Erinus.
I think the biggest lesson that I’ve learned from gardening is the constant need to prune and weed the crops. Without removing the dead branches and excess leaves from the plants, the fruit cannot prosper.
It takes daily tending, watering, and harvesting to ensure the fruit develops to its full potential - and continues to prospire.
What an amazing reminder for tending to our internal garden. Without active awareness of pruning the negativity away - pruning that which does not serve us - we cannot produce fruit.
Tending to my garden, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, has allowed God’s purpose and plan for my life to unfold in a beautiful and organic way. God meets me in the garden.
Encouraging you to start small and work with what you got - it is so rewarding to tend to your garden and powerful to grow your food. My favorite gift to give during harvest season is fresh flowers, edible bouquets, and harvest baskets!
Interested in purchasing or gifting a harvest basket? Spark the conversation.
Be well, Meghan
photography: @lucid.ladybug | lucid ladybug llc. all rights reserved.
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