A large portion of my small garden is allotted to just growing vegetables and, to a lesser extent, herbs. While they are generally not as attractive or stunning as a show garden full of flowers, the practical value of being able to grow my own vegetables is important to me. I grow vegetables for seasonal eating as well as storage for use over the winter.
My favourite type of vegetable to grow is squash. I try to include several different varieties, such as zucchini for summer eating and winter squash for storage. For the first few years, I grew Acorn squash, but it took up too much space and didn’t last as long in storage as I would prefer. I found a different variety of winter squash called Celebration Hybrid, and I really love growing this one. Another similar variety that I tried and enjoyed was called Sweet Dumpling.
Both of these varieties have great storage time, lasting into March for me. I usually grow peas to look at their flowers and for their benefits for nitrogen in the soil. Lastly, I always grow several tomato plants and zucchini to eat fresh in season and to store in the freezer for use later.
I consider my adventures in growing some of my own food to have been lucky so far. I haven’t had any major pest or disease issues, and my vegetables flourish with minimal attention. When I do have failures I try to find ways to improve on my next attempt.
For example, my first attempt at growing Brussel Sprouts did not get to a harvestable state because I prefer to plant seeds directly into the garden, and the growing season in my area isn’t long enough for that to work well, so on my next attempt, I will start the seeds early indoors first.
Fennel is another unsuccessful attempt; the bulbs did grow somewhat, but I didn’t read the directions on the seed packet, so they did not turn out well. This year, I will follow the suggested growing strategy and see how it turns out.
I have enjoyed my vegetable growing experience to date, and I feel encouraged to try growing new vegetables and using new growing techniques. I have found that there is both an art and a science to growing food, as well as an element of unpredictability that takes getting used to, especially if you want an organic garden.
The Heron and Rose 