Radishes, ‘Cherry Belle’ and ‘French Breakfast’

Ah, yes, those radishes were quite good, and thank you for asking.  They were crunchy in a crisp sort of way and had just the right amount of kick for a Sunday morning snack.

You should really grow some yourself. You know you should.  Radishes are oh-so-easy to grow, too. Just scratch up a little garden, then plant a few seeds in a row and about a month later, go out and pull some radishes.

Are you putting out a garden this year?

I’m not sure why we say “putting out a garden” when we ask if someone is going to plant a vegetable garden.

We don’t put out flower gardens.  We don’t put out lawns.  We don’t put out trees or shrubs.

We just put out vegetable gardens.

I spent quite a bit of time today in my vegetable garden, The Vegetable Garden Cathedral.

Here’s the before picture:

As the garden grows

And here’s the after picture”

See? All weeded, except the paths

What’s the difference, you ask?

The difference is I weeded all the beds and hoed them up a bit with a stirrup hoe.  Then I planted some alyssum along the front edge of each bed, just to add a little color and attract a few bees.

Then I painted all my tomato spirals a lovely tomato red.

I was going to paint them “Glow in the Dark” but decided at the last minute to paint them red.  I thought maybe the red stakes would have the same affect red plastic mulch supposedly has on tomatoes. Time will tell.

I also planted out the tomatoes and peppers, along with eggplant and nasturtium.  Oh, and along the fence I planted some borage and hollyhocks.  That bed along the fence has been fallow for several years meaning I never plant anything there, so it fills up with weeds, and then I have to spend hours weeding it out.

I’m determined this year that will not happen.  Soon I’ll sow seeds for zinnias, sunflowers, and marigolds along the fence. It will be a veritable oasis of bloom amidst the vegetables.

I haven’t finished putting out the garden, even though I did quite a bit in my garden today, all under the threat of rain, I might add. This week I’ll be sowing seeds for beans, squash, cucumbers, okra, corn, and who knows what else.

Then all that’s left to do this summer is weed a little and harvest a lot.

I’m quite optimistic about this year’s garden, even more optimistic than in other years when I was also optimistic.  I don’t know what it is, but this year just feels like it is going to be a good garden year.

Hopefully you all feel the same and are putting out a little veg garden of your own. If you aren’t, you should.  That’s no greater satisfaction in gardening then to eat something you grew yourself.  But don’t take my word for it, try it yourself.  

I challenge you. Grow something to eat in your garden this summer.

Please.