Almost Paradise Flower Farm

06/09/2026

When to harvest garlic, and how

06/09/2026

Such a great idea for organizing seeds❣️

Simple seed packet organization 🪴 • I organized my seed packets using a 2 in. binder and 4-pocket photo refill pages I found on Amazon. Seed packets fit perfectly in them! I labeled my seed categories using Avery ultra-tabs and printed a binder cover. It’s great to have seeds easily accessibl...

06/03/2026

The garlic bulb sitting in your kitchen right now spent months in darkness, waiting for the right signal to begin its transformation. What triggers this shift from leaf production to bulb formation is a biological clock that counts cold days like a patient accountant. During vernalization, garlic measures winter through cellular changes that accumulate over 12-16 weeks of temperatures below 50°F. Each cold day adds to an internal tally that eventually flips a genetic switch, redirecting all the plant's energy from making more leaves to forming the segmented bulb we harvest. Spring-planted garlic never receives this signal, so it continues growing leaves indefinitely, never knowing it's time to bulb up. Plant your garlic in September, and let winter do what only winter can do. The cold that seems harsh to us is exactly what garlic has been waiting for all along. [HZH2D]

06/03/2026

June planting still has plenty of life left 🌱 A few crops I’d reach for when the soil is warm:
🫘 Bush beans for a quick harvest.
🥒 Cucumbers if there’s still enough warm season ahead.
🌼 Sunflowers for color and pollinators.
🌿 Basil for fresh kitchen herbs.
🌱 Dill for pickling and beneficial insects.
🥬 Heat lovers like okra, yardlong beans, and Malabar spinach.
My biggest tip is to keep the seedbed evenly moist because June heat dries the top layer fast.

05/30/2026

Seeing leaf damage on your tender annuals? Find out who's been snacking! 🍃🪲 Deter the most likely culprits with our expert advice at Almanac.com/munch

05/30/2026

A bouquet that wilts in three days and one that holds for two weeks came from the same flowers. The difference is almost never the flower — it's what happens in the first ten minutes after you bring them home.

- Cut stems at a 45-degree angle under running water. A flat cut sits flush against the vase bottom and seals shut.

- Strip every leaf that falls below the waterline. Submerged foliage rots within a day and breeds bacteria that clog every stem in the vase.

- Change the water completely every two days. Rinse the vase. Recut the stems — ends reseal with air and buildup within 48 hours.

- Keep the vase away from direct sun and ripening fruit. Ethylene gas from bananas, apples, and stone fruit triggers petal drop in nearby flowers.

- Never mix daffodils with other flowers in the same water. The stems release a sap that damages every other cut flower sharing the vase. Soak daffodils alone for 12 hours first.

- Lost the flower food packet: two tablespoons white vinegar plus one tablespoon sugar per quart of lukewarm water. Change every two days.

Two weeks is not exceptional. It's what most cut flowers do when the water stays clean and the stems stay open.

05/27/2026

Most early-season tomato problems aren't caused by the soil. They're caused by misreading what the plant is telling you 🍅

A purple leaf gets treated with phosphorus. A yellow leaf gets treated with nitrogen. But in both cases, the plant is often reacting to temperature or its own growth pattern — not a deficiency. Reaching for fertilizer before diagnosing the cause can make things worse.

🌿 Three signals that fool people every spring:

- Purple undersides on young leaves — almost always a temperature response, not a soil deficiency. When the soil is still cool in early spring, the roots can't absorb phosphorus efficiently even when it's there. Adding more fertilizer doesn't help. Warming the soil does — black plastic mulch or a few more weeks of spring sun solves it on its own

- Yellow lower leaves with green veins — the plant is often moving stored nutrients from its oldest leaves to feed new growth at the top. This is normal internal redistribution, not a nitrogen shortage. Adding nitrogen at this point pushes leaf growth at the expense of fruit set

- A stem that turns brown or yellow at the base while the whole plant wilts — this one is different. Soil-borne fungal diseases like fusarium and verticillium can't be treated once symptoms show. Remove the plant, don't compost it, and avoid planting tomatoes in that spot next year

🌱 Before you reach for anything:

- Check soil temperature first. If it's still cool, most early-season leaf discoloration resolves on its own as the ground warms
- Wait a week before adding any amendment. Many early symptoms are the plant adjusting, not the plant failing
- If the problem is at the base of the stem and spreading upward, that's when to act fast — remove the plant to protect the rest of the bed

The best early-season intervention is usually patience. The plant is adjusting, not dying 🌿

05/27/2026

These beautiful Ranunculus blooms come from an ugly root called a "corm", which you plant legs down. I find it amazing what can eventually emerge from such an uncomely beginning💝

05/20/2026

Onions are powerful companion plants that help repel pests and support healthier garden growth. But they also perform best when paired with the right neighbors! 🧅

Plant chamomile alongside onions for better tasting onions; plant marigolds beside onions to help reduce pests; plant carrots between beds of onions to keep the soil aerated, and plant dill with onions to help attract beneficial insects to your garden.

For more companion plants to plant with your onions, visit Almanac.com/companion-plants-for-onions