If you’re like me, you enjoy eating freshly grown produce, but I didn’t think about gardening as a hobby until my local food co-op came to the rescue of my local nutrition group. Through their expertise, knowledge and lots of spirit, we found ourselves cabinets full of pumpkin.
As the cooler temperatures of fall set in, my garden began to look a little raggedy. The hot chocolate that we consume throughout winter was much thicker than I’d want to eat, as was my baking. So my nutritionist suggested that we grow a vegetable garden this fall. I am so excited to do it because I love making new recipes with my summer squash and zucchini.
My garden plan involves zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers and a couple ofouring herbs. I’m hoping that the barberries and the flowering kale will still be in full bloom so I can still continue my research into making potpourri and other home made herbal goodies.
While planning my garden, I thought back to how thrilled I was when my best friend’s brother came to live with us a couple of years ago. He was just a young teenager at the time and we found himuddled in a corner of the garden. During the summer months, he would happily pluck cucumbers out of the ground and help his mother with her gardening. Now having this experience of his own, I decided not to squash any more cucumbers this year.
I found some inspiration for my summer squash and cucumber garden during reading some blogs and layouts for my summer garden. Some of the most impressive was a photo blog of a man who takes his squash and cucumbers from his front porch. He posts a picture of them growing with the message, “Kids like these are easy to grow and the best tasting tomatoes and such.”
By taking bits and pieces from various gardens around the country, I was inspired to create a garden that I could do without a lot of work from outside sources. Though the biggest benefit to my summer squash garden was the delicious squash dishes I was going to make.
I found a great book that explained in detail how to create a child’s garden. It was a book that held close similarities to what I was experiencing growing up. It explained step by step how to grow a garden and how to care for the young plants. Favorite fruits were those that I grew up with. My mother’s favorite fruits were strawberries.
Winchesteranipper tells how to make a trellis for the vine to grow along. He also shows how to train the vine to grow up the trellis. He compares it to a child growing up in a candy store as a youngster. “You are like a kid with a limitless imagination.”
As I grew up, I understood what made a plant a pumpkin. It seemed like a vegetable from a different planet to me. I had no idea what I was looking at. It was beautiful but somehow, sounds fake. As a youngster, I helped my mother clear the remnants from pumpkin previous to setting it out for the garden.
As an adult, I now have a very successful garden. I’ve learned from my mistakes and those of others. Some of the lessons learned while growing up might prove critical as I continue to have success growing my own vegetables.
The most important lesson I have learned from my garden is the ability to be patient. Pestering a plant does not get one anywhere; in fact, it makes it harder to direct the plant’s energy. Instead, I find that being patient makes one to produce more abundantly and helps in the long run.
Perhaps like some others, I garden for the sole purpose of creating something of beauty. If that is true, then I am on the right track. bit of advice: stop bitching and grow some more!
