Vegetable Garden

I figured it was time for an update on my vegetable garden.  My wonderful husband did somehow find the time to build our garden earlier this summer.  We used organic soil and planted an array of herbs and vegetables including tomatoes, celery (which I mistook for parsley when I planted it), strike peas, cucumber, green peppers, arugula, dill, chives, cilantro, basil and a mix of lettuces.

This was our first attempt at a vegetable garden and we learned several lessons for next year.   The herbs we planted in the vegetable garden did not do well.  Perhaps they were planted too closely to the other vegetables and/or they didn’t get enough sun. We will have to do some research before attempting these again next year.  We planted basil separately in pots, which is flourishing.  The strike peas were by far the best peas that I have ever tasted.  Next year we plan to grow several of these pea plants.  On the other hand, we will be planting a lot less cucumber (they have huge leaves, they spread everywhere, and they have taken over a good portion of the garden).  I may be a bit biased but I feel the arugula and lettuces from our garden have much more flavor than any store-bought variety. We are still waiting on the peppers and tomatoes to ripen.  I have my first red tomato but I am waiting a bit to make sure it has fully ripened before I give it a try.

While planting a vegetable garden may not be for everyone it is a great way to keep seasonal vegetables on hand.  I’ve gone to the garden several times to pick out a handful of vegetables to add to a salad or include with our meals.  Having a garden can also inspire you to try new recipes, especially if you end up with an abundance of certain vegetables.  I ended up with a lot of cucumbers and basil so I made Greek salads, Caprese salads, and I hope to make enough pesto to freeze for the winter. Planting a vegetable garden with your children is also a great way to get them to try new foods.  It was a fun experiment and I am looking forward to doing it again next year.

Below you can find pictures showing the progress of our garden throughout the summer: