Summer Garden
The veggie garden is green and full and lovely at the moment.
Some cooler summer days and loads of spring rain has made everything leafy and wild
I can’t believe I planted so much this year. It didn’t feel like a lot back in spring. I just kept heaping dirt into rows and popping more seeds into the ground. I guess I was just excited to be outside in the sunshine, I didn’t really think about how it would look in a month or two.
Now, mid-summer, it’s a jungle of nicely planted rows gone crazy, insidious weeds and over ambitious scatterings of sun flowers. It is that magical point where everything is about to burst forth with fruit. At the moment we are savoring the first of the zucchini and beans, but soon enough we will be trying to give away the giant zucs and bags of beans to anyone who will take them.
But the cooler summer days are finally giving way to the hot dry days that I love. The weather forecast says it will be hot here all week. Kind of a lot hot, with temperatures from 36-42 Celsius (96-107 F) every day till Friday. I am pretty sure my green leafy jungle won’t like that sort of prolonged heat.
Today, since it is slightly less hot at only 34 C, I am mulching, and watering and picking anything that is even remotely big enough to eat. The kids think I am building cubby houses as I try to arrange sheets into makeshift shade over the pumpkins and cucumbers. I’m crossing my fingers that my plants make it through this week of heat and dragging out my list of zucchini recipes to use up this early abundance.
As I play cubbies and smile at my big boy eating handfuls of fresh green beans for breakfast I wonder who I have become…
Am I already an old lady fussing over her garden?
(I’m not that old!)
Am I nutbag attempting to be self sufficient?
(We are no where near self sufficient and don’t try to be)
I am not sure, but the pleasure I get from seeing food grow in my garden, and especially from feeding it to my family is more than I ever could have imagined. Maybe the old woman and the nutbag are on to something…
oh this is glorious! I’d love a garden as big as yours! Mine is teeny tiny in comparison but I LOVE creating little spaces in it. I have far too many teapots and teacups filled with succulents (my current fav plant!) and my vegetable garden in ATM is just full of herbs and a few citrus thanks to some VERY HOT WEEKS! Joys of gardening in the ‘tropics’…lush one day, dead the next! My kitchen garden at school has a fab fab FAB green manure crop which I so need to find the time to go into work and dig in. Am still winding myself up for the school year! Green Harvest and Diggers Club orders are ON THEIR WAY.
Thank you for posting this! I needed to see some green as my garden is buried under snow and temperatures have just emerged above freezing for the first time in 2 months. (I live in South Dakota) I am currently dreaming of zucchinis while garden planning with my seed catalog. Good luck surviving the high temps and keeping everything watered!
You’re not nutty at all. I think getting your hands dirty and producing your own food is one of the fundamental things that makes us happy. It’s necessary. I love your ease in the garden and casual approach. I think that keeps gardens growing just as well as the overly enthusiastic! x
I love this! I have grown my first small garden this year and it is so satisfying…to be able to go outside and pick strawberries, zucchinis, cucumbers and tomatoes is amazing!
You’re garden looks amazing, and I have big dreams for once we’ve moved into our new home on a lot more land!
Be proud of your fussing and steps towards self sustainability! I know I will be when the time comes!
What a gorgeous vegie garden you have going on! Ours is much smaller but we are still loving all of the fresh produce coming out of it! xxx
What a gorgeous part of the world you live Kate. It’s lovely to read that your garden has been growing so well. I hope it withstands the hot temperatures coming up. What’s growing in my garden? Weeds. LOL
I love the look of your garden. I am older and used to have one like that. I take care of my grandkids now and like to read your site. I would like to know where you live. I did not see it mentioned. I live in cold US right now, Illinois to be exact. What a nice moment!
Oh this is my dream Kate. It’s just divine! Ours is small and fledgling (we planted late) but I so hope it grows and grows like yours. You guys are quite the growers though (maybe not quite nut bags…maybe ;) ) You know how much I love your strawberries!! Oh I love your garden! Love it!
Your garden looks fabulous Kate. Growing fresh food engages my children with nature, keeps me sane, is satisfying and ensures that fresh healthy food is always a feature on our table – From an old nut bag :-)
this post came at just the right time as we have just set up our little vegie garden!! just started planting and have a lot to learn (such newbies/lazy gardeners) but hoping we can have some successes to inspire us further! :) would love an abundant crop like you have! love havign the kids be part of the learning too, its such a great experience. we got chookies too so its a regular farm house around here now ;)
OH what a lovely garden you grow! Those sunflowers! Amazing.