Volunteers

A couple of years ago we noticed strawberry plants growing in our flower beds, under the flowering crabapple tree. This was strange primarily because we had not planted any strawberry plants.

Later that summer we were talking to our neighbor, Mike, who is a junior high science teacher. He noted that he had strawberries in his yard (two houses away). They were delicious when they weren't totally bird pecked.

We thought about the birds who liked to perch in that particular tree and, well, put two and two together. Despite their unappetizing beginnings, we sure enjoy the strawberries.

Our Garden Grows

You can see that the girls' garden has grown quite a bit in the past couple of weeks. We've had a crazy life recently and didn't go over to see its progress as often as we wanted to. When we paid a visit on Monday night, we were surprised by how much had changed!

It's been unusually rainy here this month. Lou waters the garden by flood irrigation. For the girls, one of the best parts of having this garden is splashing around in the water (even though it's freezing cold and the weather hasn't really been hot enough to compensate yet). But Lou skipped this week's watering turn because there wasn't any need for it. It's rained almost every day, which is highly unusual for any time of year in Utah.

The girls were especially pleased because we actually had our first harvest of the summer from this garden. The radishes were ready! We also learned what happens when you don't thin enough; they mature, but don't grow very big. I don't think the girls even like radishes much, but they were very excited to reap their own harvest.

Here's Jenny with her radish bouquet.

The fruits of our labors

Here it is! The first produce from this year's garden. It is, of course, a perfect zucchini. There are tomatoes growing on the vine; they're not red yet, but we are eager with anticipation for the weeks to come.

We have big plans for what appear to be very prolific zucchini plants in our garden. We love them breaded and deep fried, although we realize that this should probably just be an occasional treat. We also like to roast the zucchini drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. It's also great grilled on the barbecue, again drizzled with olive oil.

It's Garden Time

We've found that a small garden in the back yard is vital to good summer cooking. I grew up with a father who was a psychologist, but who really wanted to be a farmer. We gardened endlessly; I admit that I didn't love it.

Bob, on the other hand, grew up in suburban LA. Gardening is new and somewhat exciting to him. And I confess that I have discovered it's in my blood. We have a back corner dedicated to tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, herbs and other adventurous vegetables. We celebrate the ripening of the first summer tomato. We already have great plans for roasting our own (hopefully abundant) red peppers.

Last week our neighbor, Lou, invited our kids to share part of his garden. Lou's gardening skills are legendary. He has a huge plot which is virtually weedless and is remarkably productive. He set aside a row for our girls. When we arrived to Tuesday afternoon to plant under his supervision, he even had it customized for us:

He brought out all kinds of seeds for the kids to choose from. They planted a little bit of everything, including items never allowed for in our garden. The girls were excited about planting a couple of kinds of squash, corn, pumpkins, gourds, and radishes. I don't think they even like radishes, but they were excited about the prospect of watching them grow. They also planted some cucumber seeds and will go back next week to plant some tiny tomatoes.

We're glad they can have the wonder and amazement of their own garden. We look forward to trying new things with the fruits of their labors. We're glad they can learn to raise food from an expert. We'll be learning right along side them.