Tummy Treasure: Weekend Extra...The Talk of the Neighborhood

Apparently I have the neighbors talking. My backyard is overflowing with growing garden goodness, and they're all amazed. Last year my garden did very poorly- mostly I believe because of poorly amended soil, and just a poor growing season overall. But this year! This year some generous compost from friends has made all the difference. And while we've only been harvesting lettuce and radishes so far, I am optimistic, and I am proving that a garden can be bountiful in a small space.

First up, I have a picture of one of my tomato plants. I have four in containers- three are Patio Celebrity and one Yellow Pear plant. One of these days I'm going to get back to Home Depot to pick up more pots because I can't believe how well these plants are doing. I can't wait to see them produce fruit.

Next, I have a photo of my main garden bed. Initially I had planted yellow beets, carrots, red beets, three rows of green beans, romaine, broccoli, radishes, and a zucchini. The yellow beets just did not take off like everything else, and rather than devote the garden space to hopeful thinking, I plucked them out this week and put in brussels sprouts. As you can see, the whole garden has taken off. The only thing I'm iffy on is the Watermelon radish. A white exterior and purple interior is what the photo promised, but so far there is no fruit under the big bushy leaves. I'll give it a few more weeks before I pluck them and add them to my newly made compost bin.

Here is a close-up of the beets. My children have determined they really like beet greens in salad- as we ate the tender thinnings. Now I'm wishing I'd planted more beets.

Finally, here is my back garden. The whole series of gardens surrounds the shed in our yard. I wanted vegetable garden space without taking up precious play space, so we decided to utilize the space around the shed. It's working great. This is the first year for the back garden. You'll notice the trellis, and planted below that is cucumbers- I'm hoping to train them up the trellis to maximize the growing space. In front of the cucumbers is the melon patch. As the melon plants grow, we'll remove the chicken wire from the front and let them vine out into the yard. Also in this patch I have another zucchini- right at the front there, and a small dill patch for turning those cucumbers into pickles. We've already picked all the French Breakfast radishes from back here, and again, there is another small row of the watermelon radish. I just wonder if this is the wrong climate for some of the more unusual vegetables. Guess I'll find out at the farmer's market next Saturday.