veggies and me

I swore many times I would never grow vegetables. I did grow herbs, but no veggies.


As a gardener with an Italian heritage, I grew up surrounded by growing edibles: lettuce, tomatoes, beans, corn, potatoes, peppers, peas, peaches, pears, cherries (I grew up in the Niagara peninsula), grapes, raspberries, strawberries, cucumbers, celery, fennel, herbs, currants, gooseberries . And chickens.


And, my mother and grandparents canned: peaches, pears, pickles, tomatoes, jams, etc. etc etc.


To this day I rarely eat peaches, even though I love them, because they remind me of endless hours spent in the basement peeling fuzzy peaches (they made me itch).


For almost 4 decades, I gardened, spending my energies stricly on ornamentals. but last year, I succumbed in a small way. I have a friend of British background with and Italian husband who had some health issues, and I asked if I could use part of his garden if he was not up to planting the whole garden. I grew green beans and lettuce very successfully and I was hooked.


I read up on "square foot gardening" and set up a bed 4 feet wide and 13 feet long. I have grown baby carrots, baby beets, lettuce , green onions and green beans. My beans are to die for!


I decided to grow a few tomatoes as well Because they take up quite a bit of room, I have grown them in a separate area, in containers. I used the old recycling boxes. They have finally startd to ripen and we are enjoing them as well. And the cucumbers, which I am growing on an obelisk that I usually use for morning glories. Home-grown cukes have a wonderful flavour!


Ok, so I will probably continue to have this modest vegetable garden in the future. But I want to make it clear that I will not keep chickens. NO CHICKENS!


But I have to admit those bantam chickens are rather cute.