Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Welcome to My Garden

Thanks to Heather who asked me about my garden yesterday.

It has been a labor of love this year working away in the dirt when I get a few minutes here and there. Due to the lovely amount of rain gracing Ontario this summer my veggies are going crazy!! Now we just need a little bit of heat so the fruits can come out. The lettuce literally exploded out of the ground. We were eating salads for days just so it wouldn't go bad. I also have tons of fresh peas, which is great for my favorite Indonesian dish, Bahmi Goreng. I need to get in there today to pick out my heritage peas. This is my first time trying them in the garden and I'm looking forward to their taste. I have a bed full of potatoes... red, blue & yellow. My husband was slightly alarmed the other day when I served blue potatoes at dinner. He thought I had gone nuts!

As soon as the weather gets a bit warmer I expect my tomatoes will start coming out. It's been a little too cool for them as of yet. I'm also waiting on my kale, garlic, onion, carrots, fennel and pumpkin.

My favorite part of the gardening experience this year is my compost bin. I have been faithfully filling it and have used it to nourish the soil along with cow manure. I haven't used one bit of pesticides or fertilizer. Yeah for organic home gardening!! Best of all, there haven't been any bug infestations. However, I did use an alyssum border to attract the honey bees for better pollination. They are the only bugs allowed!

10 comments:

AzLinda said...

Oh Tosca, what a beautiful garden! Makes me want to roll up my sleeves and get to work.

Trish said...

Your garden looks fabulous!

The Purple Carrot said...

Beautiful garden, Tosca!! : )

misti said...

Beautiful! Tomato season starts up here again in a few weeks in Florida.

Anonymous said...

Love the lush garden! Thanks for the pics.
We have a small garden and I am looking forward to the tomatoes as well. My little ones are amazed at the veggies popping up. I would love to try potatoes next year!
Good for you, Tosca in using a compost bin-it is amazing of all the veggie scraps that accumulate.


Heather

beartifix said...

Your garden is lovely! And kudos for composting.

Ann said...

Your garden looks great! I have a small one with tomatoes, and some kale. I'm not sure if my peppers will do anything this year - just not enough sun this summer! do you do all the work in it yourself?

Sue said...

What I wouldn't give for a garden like that! I live in So Cal where it just fries in the summer. We do have a growing season but any gardens require extra water to survive...now we are on water rationing here so it sure makes gardening tough!

Kristine said...

Wish I had a garden like that. My backyard is tiny. Typical house, where its a brand new big house---but with a tiny yard!

Anonymous said...

Your garden looks lovely. I also am lucky enough to grow my own vegetables. BUT mice got to my peas (which i enjoyed a few and they were great) Any tips on keeping mice away from vegetables? I might try potatoes next year though where did u get the different coloured ones? My kids would love that. Thanks so much for the CLEAN eating books i have my husband hooked on the Eat Clean For men. Awsome