Remember helping me plant my wee veggie garden? It worked! PICS

13 years ago

I posted a while back (late May?) asking for advice in planting a small veggie garden with my 3 kids. I've never had a successful garden before. I followed the advice as best as I could, and now we've got a garden that actually has veggies growing! We're so excited. The only thing that didn't grow was the radishes. Not sure why. The leaves grew, but they just have a long root.

A few days ago the kids picked a ton of lettuce and we made a big salad. Today they're going to pick our first 2 zucchinis today and some spinach. :) The tomato plants have millions of tomatoes and the peppers have loads too, but they're teeny tiny still. The peas and beans are just starting to flower. We'll have pumpkins, green onions and carrots eventually.

THANK YOU!

Here's a link to my Facebook album of pictures I took this morning. You should be able to see it, even if you don't have Facebook....

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden!

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Comments (18)

susanjf_gw
13 years ago
congrats! dd2 planted her's about the same size...think you'll be surprised at your yield...
phyllis__mn
13 years ago
How fruitful your garden is.....looks great.
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Sorry for the delay. Thank you for the comments :) Cnetter - I picked and ate a steamed cauliflower tonight for dinner that was delicious because I picked earlier (broccoli too). When I plunged it in water in the kitchen sink to wash, a million earwigs came out. Yuck! Lilacs - my garden has been enjoying the rain too. I should take pics again as it seems everything is twice the size in just the past ten days or so. Michelle - I like the raised beds for their ease and also for the look. My dream for the garden was to be French Potager style but the flower seeds I planted didn't work out like I'd hoped. Better luck next year eh! Digit - Thank you for your thoughtful comments and the time to browse. Parsley- anyway to get those greens in! You can't taste it with all the fruit. Parsley pesto - no recipe just to taste: olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesean cheese and a little basil. The long skinny eggplant is 'Ichiban Hybrid' and the round one is 'Satin Beauty'. It's been really prolific this year. I've eaten a bunch and there are quite a few ripening with new ones forming. I did cut some of the dill for drying, thank you. My new oven has a dehydrating setting, so I'll try it and see how it works. I finally got two cukes today. We ate some green beans, a few carrots, and a purple pepper as well as gypsy pepper. I used a cherry bomb pepper in a saute. Something is eating my cabbage. I suspect earwigs; they are everywhere ick. I'm going to make some cole slaw tomorrow before they get it all. I planted swiss chard, spinach, leaf lettuce, beets and more carrots for a fall harvest hopefully. Happy Gardening :) Charlene
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kacram
13 years ago
yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! looks good!
gadgets
13 years ago
I'm not only glad you're doing this, but especially that you're doing it with your kids. My son and I were just discussing yesterday how we know how to garden, preserve, etc, but so many kids don't have a clue as to real food and how you get it.

As for the radishes, did you thin them when they were just an inch or two high? If not, that may be why you only have a long root.

Shirley
nicole_ont
Original Author
13 years ago
I did thin the radishes when they were about an inch tall. I'm wondering if maybe it has been too hot for them? I don't know.

We've got loads of zucchini in one pot. I'm amazed. I love it steamed, but we'll make a cake with some of it, since none of the kids like it plain. There are zillions of tomatoes as well, so we'll probably make some salsa and pasta sauces to jar! SO much fun!
Terri_PacNW
13 years ago
Nice looking food Nicole! Replant the radishes if you have any seed left...and try again..beauty of radishes..they are short growing and you can just keep planting...also try another batch of peas and bean seeds..See if you can get some more before your cold weather kills off the plants.

Which all reminds me..time to thin the carrots...and plant a few more things myself..
Jasdip
13 years ago
Good for you on your garden! I'm especially envious of your peppers. I planted some pepper plants in a very large pot on my balcony. They are growing lots, and have lots lots of blossom, buy my blossoms are dropping off.
My neighbours has planted jalapeno every year and usually has lots, except this year, her blossoms are all dropping off as well.
Frustrating, when I wanted peppers so bad.
hayjud_mn
13 years ago
Your garden looks GORGEOUS!
Your excitment reminds me of when our kids were young and we entered things in the county fair. Then the day after the fair, the kids would start planning on what to grow next year.
Your garden makes me hungry!
angelaid
13 years ago
How exciting. I'm envious.
donna_loomis
13 years ago
Nicole, your little garden is beautiful and bountiful! And I will tell you from experience, that children will often eat a vegetable they normally wouldn't, because it came from THEIR garden.

Radishes do like cooler weather, so you might want to try again in the early fall, when the weather cools down.
gadgets
13 years ago
I can remember as a child that it was so much fun to steal the young carrots from my Mom's garden. We had a spring house where we'd then go to clean them. The crunch of that fresh carrot, washed with icy cold water, I can taste it now.

Shirley
lydia1959
13 years ago
Looks great Nicole! Great learning experience and fun for your kids too.
alisande
13 years ago
Excellent, Nicole!! And great for the kids to be involved.

Re zucchini, don't forget that it tastes good grilled (toss with garlic and olive oil first), and also coated with flour, salt & pepper, and Italian herbs, and sauteed in olive oil. I love zucchini! Pick 'em small.
Jasdip
13 years ago
....and Zucchini Chocolate Cake!
nicole_ont
Original Author
13 years ago
I probably won't even bother with the radishes again, because Claude's the only one who likes them! :)

Alisande, that's actually what we ended up doing with the zucchini - coated it and sauteed it. I love it grilled with just a bit of olive oil and salt, too. I read a recipe today for zucchini sticks - tossed in melted butter with herbs, parmesean cheese and wheat germ and baked in the oven.... Sounds good to me!
Jasdip
13 years ago
....and Zucchini Chocolate Cake!
nicole_ont
Original Author
13 years ago
Seriously? Is that a real recipe? My kids (and Claude and I) love anything chocolate....
Jasdip
13 years ago
We (and everyone who has eaten it or gotten the recipe) loves it. It doesn't need icing, which I love because I don't like icing. It freezes well, and is good for lunches etc. Nice and moist.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
1/2 cup butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour milk (add 1 tsp vinegar)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
4 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup oil
2 cups grated zucchini (if using frozen, as I always do, squeeze it dry, to measure 2 cups)

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs well. Add sour milk and vanilla.

Blend baking soda and powder with flour. Add cocoa to butter mixture; add flour.

Combine oil and zucchini; add to batter. Mix and pour into a 9x9 (I use a 13-x9 if I use more zucchini.)
Bake at 350 35-40 minutes.

Remember helping me plant my wee veggie garden? It worked! PICS

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Remember helping me plant my wee veggie garden? It worked! PICS

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