Thursday, July 01, 2010

My... how the garden grows

This is one of the two garden boxes Don made for me.  Isn't it beautiful?  And my garden loves it.  It is going bonkers!  The squash is out of control (overflowing plants on the left).  It is now double the size in the picture, spilling down over the backside and one section broke off (tears) from the weight of it hanging over. 

This box contains cantelope, three tomato plants, jalapino pepper, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, crazy squash, and marigolds to keep out critters.  They are doing their job well.


My second box is also MUCH fuller than this now!  It contains cucumber (growing like crazy now too), herbs (rosemary, cilantro, basil), a cherry tomato plant and green beans. I also have oregano and lemon thyme in another free standing pot.  I actually had to move some things around last week.  The cilantro and basil had to moved to another pot and two pepper plants had to be moved to this box since my squash is gigantoid.  I also lost four green bean plants to ants (little stinkers I attacked with baby powder) and so I had some extra room.


It is great fun having a garden.  And there is just something way too cool about going out and picking squash, green beans, and tomatoes and then bringing it into the kitchen, cooking it and eatting it!  And it just bursts with flavor.  I have been having flashbacks in my mouth from childhood when we lived on a farm.  The cucumbers just blow me away... with how much flavor they have, how crisp and clean they taste.  The kids love it too.  I am hooked and already wanting Don to make at least one more box for next year's garden.

 
I am totally intrigued with the squash plant and the whole growth process.  The leaves are huge, soaking in the sun and creating a canopy that provides shade for the yellow blooms beneath that turn into squash.
The stalks are hollow, leaving them fragile (very fragile) and so therefore they are covered in tiny razor sharp thorn-like thingies to protect them.  Brilliant.  No rabbit is going to chomp on one of these bad boys!  And they are FULL of water... amazing.

 
Watching blooms turn into green beans, tomatoes, squash, pepper and cucumbers has made me feel like a child again... just caught up in the wonder of it all.  It's totally cool!  God is totally cool.  I have lettuces and brussel sprouts to plant this fall... don't know where yet!


3 comments:

  1. I love this, Dawn! Each year as we plant our garden, I'm also just in awe of God and His creation as seeds turn into amazing plants and yield produce for our family! So cool!

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  2. I am so jealous..I have been trying to garden for years..I have moved my garden at least 9 years out of the 11 we have lived here! I thought I had it right this year, but no..I have 2 cherry tomatoes and the voles have plucked my peppers straight through the ground like a cartoon rabbit eating a carrot from the bottom up! I am buying merigolds today! I have gotten 2 cucumbers and have some flowers on my yellow squash, so maybe there is still some hope?? (thank God for the farmers market right down the street :-)

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  3. Gardens ROCK! Jodi... so good to hear from you. Chris... you have me laughing so hard with the thought of your produce being snatched to the underground! Google has been my best friend on fidning organic ways to keep your garden pest free. I just attacked ants with baby powder and cinnamon again today and covered their nest! They should be gone asap. Google on how to get rid of your unwanted critters and I bet you'll have some luck!

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!