Is it just me who has become strangely attached to the veggies I have grown? Do those who garden also refer to their produce as their prides and joy?
Maybe it is because this is the first time I have done it and so far all is going swimmingly. It turns out growing my own is my guilty pleasure. Currently, I am growing; (from left to right) courgettes, broad beans and spinach. Elsewhere I have tomato (three kinds), sage, pepper- and spear- mint and parsley.
So far I have only been able to eat the herbs and spinach. The beans are so close to ready and I have just been lacking an occasion to show off my sage. I have found so many recipes for broad beans and we all enjoyed eating the top shoots of the plant in a salad last week.
I have discovered that growing your own exposes you to so many recipes that are just not possible with the vegetables supplied in a supermarket. I’ve never seen yummy little broad beans no bigger than the size of your little finger available. I can’t wait to whack mine into a stir fry and eat the whole little popping green lovlies.
As I learn how to treat and respect what I am growing, the produce becomes even more important. I am excited to start to cook with all sorts of bits of my new venture.
Little note…I seem to have stumbled across an interesting gardening fact. As I am growing organic, I refuse to eat things that would be absorbed into my vegetables if I wouldn’t eat them in their raw state. If you won’t sprinkle slug pellets over your roast, why sprinkle them over your cabbages?
Anyway, it seems coffee grounds have an ability to scare most little devils away from my veggies. Perhaps this is a known fact? If you’ve not tried it, give them a go! They smell nice, they are free from some coffee shops and are full of goodness to help your soil as well as your pocket.
All That I’m Eating
You should be super proud! I wish I had a garden. =)
This is awesome – it does taste so much better when you grow it yourself, right?
My boyfriend takes great pride in the wee veggies he grows in his garden – he has tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce and squash, and last year he had chillies (which were fabulous – he brought me some and they were awesome). I, however, don’t have a garden, so instead I have a little window sill herb ‘garden’ and my basil baby is my pride and joy =)
You should be proud though – sustainability and earth joy is something to rejoice! Good luck with the garden!
Jax x
I so WISH I could do some gardening, but all I can grow is a tiny basil plant on top of my kitchen counter as we live in a tiny apartment!!! 🙂 One day, though, I’ll break out a garden in the same way you have. I can understand your garden being your pride and joy. You work incredibly hard to help it grow and you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor! Major accomplishment!
I used coffee grounds from starbucks and the next day all my plants and veggies were all standing up taller and seemed happier!!! it totally works!!