Comments on: Thoughts and photos from a first summer of veg growing

By: stressbustingunleashed468.wordpress.com

stressbustingunleashed468.wordpress.com — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 12:22:39 +0000

By contrast, modern medicine and society place more importance on masking the symptoms, keeping a stiff
upper lip, knocking it on the head and getting back on the horse as quickly as possible.
As an adult I’m overwhelmed by the constant stimulation of
the technical world we live in. When danger is near, stress and anxiety is a natural occurrence.

By: Tea

Tea — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:59:15 +0000

What a delight to find your lovely site (Emma’s Music mentioned us both in her round up). I’m just trying to bang out a post about my garden this summer, so it’s fun to see the results of someone else’s efforts.
I learned that if you buy a packet of chard that has 50 seedlings in it, you shouldn’t plant them all! I had chard coming out of my ears this summer. Happily my allotment garden has a food bank donation program, and I now have a freezer full of greens, but boy was it hard to keep up.
On the flip side, I don’t think it’s possible to ever plant too many peas. Or strawberries.
Thanks for sharing your garden.

By: Helen

Helen — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:08:39 +0000

Well, you already know about mine! Your efforts are way more impressive though. Oh, how I wish I had the space to grow rainbow chard. One day…Your garden is absolutely beautiful by the way.

By: Sophie

Sophie — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:08:15 +0000

Nice to hear the humble radish has such staunch supporters, Jeremy, Kathryn and Elaine. I cropped the photo rather harshly – there were a lot more of the little pink chaps off shot! You’ll be happy to hear I’ve planted a few more for a winter crop.
Elaine – you’ll have to give me your secret – fresh greens every day is quite an achievement!
Sophie – my chard is pink, yellow and orange. The variety is called Bright Lights, but I suspect it is actually the same as rainbow chard. It’s a little bit more tannic than the green, white-veined variety.
Helen – our chickens have only been with us for about 3 months but they’re already terrorising the cats and chasing them. The cats seem to be taking it in good humour so far and enjoy sitting on top of the chicken house as their chosen place of safety.
Arwen – interesting to hear that you found sugar snaps unproductive too. From Elaine’s comment is sounds like you have to have a whole sugar snap patch!
Wendy & Kalyn – you’ve really inspired me to get planting this year!
Johanna, Joey, Deborah and Chelsea – thanks so much for leaving a note to tell me that you enjoyed the photos. I’m encouraged to post about my garden again later in the year (fingers crossed for the Winter sowings!)

By: chelsea

chelsea — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:04:33 +0000

Gorgeous photos – and so inspiring too! The rewards from all the work put into creating and maintaining a garden (no matter the size) are such a joy. Yours looks so healthy!

By: Deborah Dowd

Deborah Dowd — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:14:05 +0000

What beautiful pictures and prose-it was like a retrospective of summer- so welcome as we move to fall.

By: Deborah Dowd

Deborah Dowd — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:11:54 +0000

What beautiful pictures and prose-it was like a retrospective of summer- so welcome as we move to fall.

By: joey

joey — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:25:54 +0000

What a wonderful inspiring post! I live in the city, in a small flat, with one plant (a kaffir lime)…I would love to be able to grow my own vegetables though…still dreaming!

By: Elaine

Elaine — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:35:18 +0000

A lovely end-of-the-summer post, Sophie. Beautiful & inspiring photos, too. You’ve accomplished a great deal in your first gardening year — I suspect you have green toes as well as green thumbs & fingers.
I have to agree with Kathryn & Jeremy – not too many radishes for me either. They’re another cool season crop so I think I will sow seeds in a couple or three small pots this week.
Your chard is gorgeous. As someone who used to grow only ornamentals, I think a vegetable garden can be as pleasing to the eye as a purely decorative garden.
I think every garden needs some carefully selected contained fauna as well as flora. How brilliant you even grew some from “seed” ;-). Equally ingenious: your coop for the garden.
I have a long list of lessons learned this year in my own garden. #1: I MUST schedule sowing dates on a calender, not just save helpful lists & calendars to my computer. I also didn’t grow enough sugar snap peas — just to let you know, even 5 plants aren’t enough for two people. And I could go on and on with the “goofs”. The greatest triumph. Fresh greens everyday from mid-Spring through early summer. I agree, greens are “gold”, particularly when you look at the price of mesclun in the grocery store.
Oops, this comments is turning into a post.
In closing: wonderful, wonderful garden and chook habitat. I’m looking forward to more gardening stories & photos in the seasons to come.

By: Helen @ World Foodie Guide

Helen @ World Foodie Guide — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:13:14 +0000

Your garden looks stunning! And I’m pleased to see one of the hens looking so well. How does the cat get along with the chickens by the way? I ask because the cats that we have, as well as the neighbours’ cats, have to deal with some very large ducks every day from the lake (and the ducks always seem to win)…