Good points to think about when picking a location for your garden: sun exposure, soil quality, access to water, drainage, competition from existing plants, and protection from foliage munching wildlife.
Every year, we’ve planted our garden in a different, “better” location, hoping to actually have some vegetables to harvest. The first year we didn’t grow squash, we grew squat. Come to find out, we planted right next to our septic tank’s leach field. Not a good idea. Each successive year, we’ve tried new spots with new fancy techniques, and still: nada, although sometimes: meh.
This year, Jeremy used his extra smart brain and super strong muscles to build a raised platform with lots of good garden dirt, complete with chicken and cow poo. Next, he enclosed it with lattice to discourage wayward goats from eating our sproutlets and hung a leaky hose across the back fence, a “drip system” if you will.
Once the space was ready, we had our very own seed-planting experts come in and do their thing. It’s interesting, really, how many pumpkin seeds two four-year-olds will plant, if given the chance. We weeded and poked and watered. Before too long, we had some growth.
It’s a shame, too, that you can’t find cucumbers like ours in the grocery store.
Pick a good spot. Prepare the soil. Plant the seeds. Weed and water. Go on vacation. Harvest. Eat salad!
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5 replies on “Gardening 101, a Tutorial”
Wow – I love your garden photos! What happened to that cuke? I knew to your site, thanks to AllMediocre, and I love what I see!
You grew Squat – hahahahahaha.
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Pumpkin-Recipes/Detail.aspx for a TON of recipes that use pumpkin! You can even make cupcakes out of them!
i LOVE going outside to grab some extra veggies for salad from the garden…
it’s the best!
We roast our pumpkins. Poke them all over with a good sharp knife so they do not explode. Cover a baking sheet that has the little sides with foil (unless you like to scrub crusty pumpkin mung), and bake at 350 until you can stick a butter knife clear to the center without much effort. Depending on the size of the pumpkin, it will take about an hour. Let it cool, and when it is, the skin should separate from the flesh really easily. You can scrape it off with a plastic spatula. The stringy part with the seeds will separate from the flesh, and you can either eat chunks of pumpkin with butter and salt and pepper, or puree it for pies, breads, etc. Use the puree wherever a recipe calls for canned pumpkin and you will never want the canned stuff again.
The seeds can be roasted at 425 for 15-30 minutes with butter or olive oil and salt. Stir frequently because those guys are not afraid to burn.
And that was one sexy cuke.