Among the many activities we love to do as a family is to plant a small kitchen garden every Spring. It does not take much to have a garden going. For those who like raised beds, it is easy to purchase them from the garden section of most hardware stores. We grew up tilling the land and planting directly into the tilled ground.
Preparing a garden directly onto the ground does take a little bit of time…but the interaction with nature and soil is such a relaxing, healing experience. (especially if you don’t mind getting your hands and feet dirty). One can always use gardening gloves and boots if need be. The tools to the do the job, the options are many…we use a “fork Jembe” imported from our home.
We like to plant a variety of vegetables as well as fruits and flowers. This season we got a lot of produce…from kale, Zucchini, butternut, cantaloupe, scallions, cherry tomatoes and regular tomatoes, corn, and so much more. What is different this year is that the Spring was kind dry but July-August has been rainy. This has had a wonderful effect on the tomatoes and kale… the garden looks and ‘feels’ happy.
One aspect I have to mention; Gardening also does have its challenges. The biggest challenge, animals…from groundhogs that love the kales and cabbage to deers that will eat almost anything green. Well, a fence can keep some of these animals out of your garden but ultimately…you may have to share with them. When it comes to nutrients, to stay truly organic, use animal manure and not fertilizers. Pest control is another topic but the less chemicals you use, the better…after all this is one of the purposes for our kitchen garden…eat fresh and organic.
Now for the best part, thanks to a friend, I got a nice recipe for the zucchini…zucchini cake. Love it…so delicious and healthy. Even the mention of it makes my mouth water. Just reach out for a quick and easy recipe. The kale, tomatoes and more have made dinners a ‘garden to table’ experience. We have had so much produce that we have friends come over and pick what they want. We can only be grateful to God for his Providence. It is fun to garden…try it!