Rain

The annual early fall rain storm came in on Wednesday. The previous weekend I had put arugula, lettuce and broccoli into the winter garden and it was such a treat to see the seedlings visibly perk up after their shower. The seedlings seem to be settling in nicely and this weekend they'll be joined by beet, radish and carrot seeds. So far, the winter garden plot seems to be working better than the summer garden and I'm cautiously optimistic...

This is what makes it worth it

As the pasta water was boiling on the stove, I went outside into the garden. The recipe called for basil and cherry tomatoes and I had plenty of both. The evening was warm after a balmy, breezy day, and I lingered over the basil plant, selecting the best leaves for our dinner.

The recipe was simple: pasta with sausage, tomatoes, basil, a bit of garlic and red wine vinegar. But it tasted especially delicious with produce from my own little garden.

Hope sprouts eternal

The summer veggie garden was, frankly, a disappointment. It was the biggest garden I had every cultivated and I amended the soil, planted at the right time, watered and weeded regularly. A few things flourished-- tomatoes and a mystery squash that turned out to be a pumpkin, but everything else was stunted or simply died in the ground.

I did learn alot and now I'm starting the winter garden with high hopes. It is in a different plot (luckily I have a big yard) and I planted a bunch of seeds in flats. There'll be arugula, beets, bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, kale and lettuce. I'm hoping this will yield a better crop.