At the bottom of my garden…
I’ve said it before: I am no gardener.
My thumb is more olive than green, if you get my drift…
I have already had one attempt at a vegetable patch here since arrived here two years ago.
It was mildly successful – the basil went wild, but the tomatoes failed to yield – and then the couch grass took over. My enthusiasm waned.
…
My darling hubby has been gently encouraging me back into the “vegetable patch saddle” ever since (he does love his fresh veges!).
“I’ll help” he offered.
“I’ll even build you one,” he said.
Part of my issue with gardening is that it requires crouching and kneeling. I own a knee (for reasons I will get around to sharing with you one day) that refuses to do either. I can sit, or bend over – limiting both the scope of the area excavated and time I can spend. So Mr Incredible (in his copious spare time) built me this four weeks before Christmas…
It’s a built-up bed, so I can sit alongside the plants or easily bend over them to tend the garden. And it’s the best thing ever! We lined the bottom with plastic and then lots of newspaper, then used layers of soil from the yards (lots of manure mixed in!) and compost to build it up to the right level. No weeds baby! …
Planted just six weeks ago are (from left to right)
Coz lettuce
Silverbeet
Zucchini
Cucumber
Capsicums
I think the zucchinis and the cucumbers are impersonating Triffids and taking over the world. Wanna delve a little into the world under those massive green leaves?
Hello little beetle… please don’t eat all my veges.
There were quite of few of these little dudes milling around and munching on my silverbeet.
Wanna come further in?
How gorgeous is this?
I never expected a zucchini flower to be beautiful…
Is it just me, or can you imagine a fairy stretching her arms as this flower unfurls?
OK. Maybe not. Hello zucchinis! Nice yellow hats…
I had never seen a zucchini in the wild before.
Groovy!
…
…
I managed to harvest a cucumber and some lettuce for my first meal from the amazing Granite Glen Vege Patch.
Mmmmmmmm….Salad wrap with my own veges.
Only one thing could make it any better.
A blast of pepper from my light-up, auto-grind peppermill.(Thanks Santa!)
…
One small thing is disturbing me about the vege patch though…
Actually two little things:
Cut it out, you lot!
This is a family show…
18 Comments
Natarojo
mmmm I can just taste that lovely salad wrap! I can’t wait for it to warm up around here so I can tackle the garden once more! I’m not really all that enthused about the gardening aspect itself, but I love fresh vegies!
Gem
Those little bugs are very cute, even doing what they are doing! We must be on the same wavelength. I just posted about my bountiful harvest from my veggie garden. Do you want some zucchini. I have about a thousand of them! I’ll send some your way!
Alison
LOL! Only you can make veggies that.. er… ‘exciting’!
Love the salad though – now you’re speaking my language! 🙂
jeanie
Oh my – see, I have the opposite problem – our insects are prolific and after a few weeks of neglect, our veges are – well, quite seedy.
I have peppermill envy.
Andrea
It sure looks like those bugs have a little more on their minds besides eating your veggies!! LOL!!!
Your garden looks great!! I need to plant one, I was thinking of doing a raised bed too. I am all about no weeds.
And wow, a light up pepper grinder!! How cool is that! Your salad looks so yummy.
Lydia
What a beautiful garden! I was just thinking that next summer (it’s snowy here in Dakota) I would plant some lettuce and tomatoes. I think I have a patch in my new yard that would do nicely.
Love the raised bed — it is absolutely fantastic! And your Zucchini are absolutely gorgeous!
Debby
*closes eyes and chants quietly*
“I will not covet BB’s vegetable garden. I will not covet BB’s vegetable garden. I will not covet…”
That being said, I am green, and I am not a vegetable.
Tracey
What is this? Second blog I read this morning about veggie gardens! I had one once, and I did enjoy being able to eat what we grew. Unfortunately I don’t have the energy to start one up. My back wouldn’t handle the digging… And MY dearly beloved hasn’t offered to build me a garden like that! (That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.) I am, however, very impressed, and very envious!
dykewife
i saw a recipe for cooked zucchini flowers. a cream cheese mixture was squirted into the flower, they were dipped into a light batter (like tempura) and then deep fried for a short while and then served.
why zucchini? because, as you will soon find out, zucchini are very, very, VERY prolfic. it was a great way of using the flowers before they became the fruit that ate new york. 😀
congrats on the garden.
Cactus Jack Splash
Well I think that garden is looking very good
Jayne
Looks fan-bloody-tastic, BB !
St. Fairsted Farm
Congratulations on your raised beds! They look great! I wish our spring would come on’….
Mom L
Oh, wow – you’ll be making zucchini bread, zucchini bars, zucchini soup, etc., etc.! But BB, what the heck are capsicums? I could google it, but prefer your definition.
And I’m afraid your little beetles look like the ones in Diane’s video from her 10/26 post – pretty things and beetles!
Bush Babe
Methinks I need that recipe for zucchini bread (Mom L)and for those flower things (DW)… they are RAMPANT!
Mom L – capsicums are your “peppers” (red, green and yellow). Man this language thing is somethin’ else. Will add it to the language link in the right column too.
Thanks for feedback all – I still can;t believe I have a PRODUCING vege patch!! More to come…
🙂
BB
PS Jeanie – “peppermill envy” – ha ha!
I'm Julie
From such bugs come MORE bugs… I’m just sayin’ – you might want to buy them a TV.
And the pepper mill is kind of cracking me up. Why does it light up? Do you often grind pepper in the dark? Is it multi function – a pepper mill by day, a flashlight by night? Is it so you can get pepper into the darkest crevices of your salad?
Mysteries. I’ll tell ya!
😉
Tami
You lucky lucky girl. What a lovely way to garden.
Pencil Writer
GREAT looking garden! And did you say you only planted it 4 weeks ago? Talk about envy . . . Zuccini bread is yummy stuff. But I also love steamed zuccini, sauted zuccini, zuccini in soups and I’ll be it would make a great au gratin dish, too.
Mr. Incredible is indeed pretty incredible! You hang on to that bloke! (Like you need me to tell you!)
Rose
I love zucchini! Always plant some in the summer, and I have a Zucchini-Apple Crisp recipe that tastes exactly like apple crisp. No one believes me that it isn’t really apples. Oh how I long for our summer to return!!! And yes, I also could picture the fairy… 🙂