NaturallyHicks on LTK

If your garden feels tired and your new crops are struggling, it’s probably not you — it’s your soil.

🥦➡️🌾 Brassicas are heavy feeders, so follow them up with cover crops or nitrogen-fixers like peas, clover, or beans. Your soil will thank you next season! ✨

#SoilHealth #CropRotation #midwestgarden #backyardgardening

If your garden feels tired and your new crops are struggling, it’s probably not you — it’s your soil. 🥦➡️🌾 Brassicas are heavy feeders, so follow them up with cover crops or nitrogen-fixers like peas, clover, or beans. Your soil will thank you next season! ✨ SoilHealth CropRotation midwestgarden backyardgardening

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Dreaming about next season’s garden layout? Now’s the perfect time to plan ahead and invest in your raised beds and grow towers 🌱

@epicgardening is running a big sale — vertical planters 25% off + raised beds 25% off + BOGO 50%, and you can stack my code NATURALLYHICKS2025 for an extra 5% off!

Build your dream garden setup now so it’s ready to fill with green come spring 🌸

Zone 4 friends… you still have a few important tasks you can do before true winter hits. ❄️
Here’s what I’m focusing on right now to set myself up for a smoother spring.
🍂Cleaning up raised beds - pulling weed especially
🍂Putting those leaves to good use - they make a great mulch
🍂Winterizing all the berries

What’s still happening in your garden?

#raisedbedgarden #gardening #zone4 #zone4garden

As the garden sleeps, I’m already planning what to grow next. My @epicgardening seed trays make it so easy to start strong—no more flimsy plastic or failed starts. Here’s to another season of fresh beginnings! 🌱✨

Grab seed starting trays for yourself — or the gardener in your life — during @epicgardening’s Black Friday event! 🌱✨
They’re 25% off plus you can use my link in my bio for an extra 5% off your order.
Perfect time to stock up before seed starting season begins! 🌿

#seedstarting #epicgardening #gardenready #gardeninggifts #blackfridaydeals #gardentools

I’ve loved watching this space change with every season — proof that a garden really is a living thing. 🌿

Growing in raised beds (like these cedar ones from @eartheasy ) makes gardening easier in so many ways — better drainage, warmer soil in spring, fewer weeds, and less bending to plant or harvest.

It’s a setup that looks good and works hard, no matter the season. 🌸

🛒 shop the sale, link in my bio

Free mulch alert! 🍁 Instead of raking and dumping, try this trick to protect your soil all winter long 🌱

#homestead #mulch #gardentips #fallgarden

The secret to the sweetest carrots? A few frosty mornings. 🥕❄️ When the temps drop, carrots turn their starches into sugar — kind of like nature’s way of adding a little sweetness before winter settles in.

#gardening #zone4gardening #midwestgarden #raisedbedgarden #carrots #harvesting #fallgarden

Time to spray fruit trees. I use both products twice a year - fall & spring. Once the leaves have fallen in fall and before the bubs open in the spring

#LTKSeasonal

I’ll be honest — it’s been awhile since I’ve spent time in the garden. This time of year is always hard for me. Watching all the green slowly turn to brown feels like saying goodbye to a friend.

I tend to avoid this space during the fall because I never feel quite ready to let it go. And this year hit especially hard — that unexpected frost wiped out all my fall crops overnight.

So this season, I’m giving myself permission to be a lazy gardener. I’ve worked hard here all summer, and it’s okay to rest now — just like the garden does.

Anyone else struggle with this transition from growing season to letting go?

#fallgarden #gardenreflection #lazygardener #zone4garden #minnesotagardener

It’s garlic season! 🧄

Prepping this raised bed for garlic planting, an in depth video of how I plant garlic coming soon!

It’s not too late to order some or grab from your local nursery

🌿 Quick Rule of Thumb
• Hardneck = better flavor, easier peeling, larger cloves but shorter storage. Better for colder climates. I’m planting music and red chestnut this year, both hard neck garlic
• Softneck = milder flavor, more cloves but smaller, longer storage, good for braiding. Better for mild climates.

Fertilizers I used are linked in my bio. Blood meal from @true_organic_ & mineralyte from @redmondagriculture Agriculture

Are you planting garlic this fall season?

Happy planting!
#garlic #plantinggarlic #raisedbedgarden #midwestgarden

🧄🌱 Garlic is one of the easiest (and most rewarding) crops to grow! In Zone 4, fall is the perfect time to plant!

👉 Planting tips:
• Break bulbs into individual cloves
• Plant pointy side up, 2–3 inches deep
• Space 4–6 inches apart
• Cover with mulch for winter protection

Tuck them in now and you’ll be harvesting big, beautiful bulbs by mid-summer!

Full video on YouTube or check out my Garlic highlight

Happy planting!

#GarlicPlanting #GrowGarlic #FallPlanting #Zone4Gardening #ColdClimateGardening #OrganicGardening #KitchenGarden #HomesteadGarden #GardeningTips #GrowYourOwnFood

Harvesting the last of my cucumbers for the season - bittersweet.

Cucumbers + trellises are a match made in the garden 💚 I love walking under the trellis and seeing cucumbers hanging.

Here is why I grow vertically - harvesting is so much easier! It saves me precious bed space and keeps the plants healthier. Have you tried growing cucumbers this way?

#raisedbedgarden #verticalgarden #trellis #gardentrellis #cattlepaneltrellis

A greenhouse wrapped in hydrangeas? Yes please! 🩷

#midwestgarden #hydrangea #hedge #hydrangeahedge

End of season cleanup? Nope — I’m letting my plants do the work 😉 Dead plants = free mulch, happy soil, and way less work come spring! Skip plants that had disease or major pest issues.

Pro tip - break up this foliage into small pieces with a shovel so it breaks down quicker. I’ll be adding a good layer of leaves once all my crops are done for the fall.

#lazyGardener #soilhealth

Fertilizing my berries

#LTKSeasonal

Garden at the beginning of September 🌺

How is September already almost over? The garden is slowly starting to loose its lushness but the season isn’t over yet.

I’m getting ready to plant garlic this week 🧄 If you’re planning on planting garlic stay tuned for a video!

Happy gardening friends!

#fallgarden #fallgardening #midwestgarden

In my cut flower era

Cupcakes Blush Cosmo

Cosmos are my favorite cut flower to plant in the garden. Double Click Rose Bon Bon

🌱 Planting a fall crop of broccoli today… with my little “helper” 🐶 by my side. Gardening with a puppy means twice the dirt, twice the laughs, and hopefully just as much broccoli come harvest time! 🥦✨

#fallplanting #fallcrops #backyardgardening

Buckwheat is one of the best “quick fix” cover crops, especially for summer and early fall plantings.

Here are the main benefits of growing buckwheat as a cover crop:

🌱 Soil Health & Fertility
• Improves phosphorus availability – buckwheat’s roots exude acids that unlock phosphorus in the soil, making it available for future crops.
• Adds organic matter – when tilled or composted, it breaks down quickly, enriching soil structure.
• Boosts microbial activity – its rapid growth stimulates soil life.

🌾 Weed Suppression
• Fast-growing smother crop – buckwheat can shade out weeds in just 10–14 days.
• Outcompetes summer weeds like pigweed, lambsquarters, and foxtail.

🐝 Pollinator & Beneficial Insect Support
• Abundant flowers – bloom in as little as 4–6 weeks.
• Nectar source – attracts bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and predatory insects that help manage pests.

🌍 Erosion Control
• Dense canopy – protects bare soil from rain impact and wind erosion.
• Fine roots – hold soil particles together, preventing washouts.

🌿 Flexibility & Ease
• Fast turnaround – matures quickly, can be mowed or tilled in after 30–45 days.
• Grows in poor soils – tolerates low fertility better than many cover crops.
• Great for succession – can be planted between spring and fall crops.

Happy planting!

#covercrops #gardening #raisedbedgarden #midwestgarden

🍂 September in the garden feels like a mix of harvest + hustle. The beds are still full, the air is crisp, and I’m soaking up these last golden days before frost. 🥕🍅🌿

What’s still growing strong in your garden this month?

#fallgarden #backyardgarden #gardener

#ad From the very first planting to now, these raised beds from @eartheasy have completed this space of the garden. ✨ I couldn’t imagine this space without them 🌿

Raised beds don’t just look beautiful — they make gardening easier 🌱
✔️ Better drainage
✔️ Warmer soil in spring
✔️ Fewer weeds

Plus aesthetically pleasing ✨

Happy gardening!

#GardenTransformation #RaisedBedGarden #HomegrownHarvest #midwestgarden #raisedbedgardening

These tomatoes needed pruning. Sometimes I don’t even know where to start - getting these tomatoes pruned and tied up was a task and definitely needed to happen. Looks so much better!

Pruning can be intimidating especially with so many STRONG opinions. I like to do a mix of both pruning and letting the plant do its thing.

Check out my tomato highlight for more info on how I prune my plants 🍅

Full video on my YouTube 📺 & TikTok

#pruning #backyardgardening #gardenchores

🍅✨ Did you know the best time to pick tomatoes isn’t when they’re fully red? It’s when they hit the blush stage — just starting to turn color!

Here’s why I always pick early:
✅ They ripen perfectly indoors
✅ Less chance of splitting from rain
✅ Fewer pest & critter problems
✅ Longer harvest window

So next time you see that little bit of color… don’t wait! Pick it, let it finish ripening on the counter, and enjoy at peak flavor. 🌿

Do you harvest at blush or wait until they’re bright red on the vine? 👇

#TomatoTips #Gardening101 #HomesteadHarvest #TomatoSeason #GardenToTable #growyourownfood

Spent the quiet morning harvesting the last of my carrots. If you haven’t grown purple carrots you definitely need to this fall. They are hands down my favorite! 🥕

Happy harvesting!

#harvesting #harvest #gardenharvest