How Does Your Garden Grow?

The last two years I haven't managed much of a garden. The summer I was pregnant with the boys I was in no shape (ha!) to garden.

Last year my sister Judy helped put in the garden when she was here for Easter, so we got peas, green beans, potatoes and a few tomatoes. But the garden still didn't get much attention, and it was not a good year for tomatoes in this area.

So far this year, we're doing much better.

We'll be turning the kids loose on these peas any day now.

And the romaine lettuce you see on the far left is growing like crazy and so yummy! I have learned that I much prefer head lettuces like romaine and buttercrunch to leaf lettuce. So I planted both this year. Plenty for us and the rabbits.

This bed has tomatoes, peppers and a couple cucumber plants in it. So far things are looking pretty good. I'm hoping for lots of tomatoes so I can make lots of cream of tomato soup. I'd love to have enough to can this year. The kids love it and ask for it all the time.

I'm also looking forward to fresh-from-the-garden salsa. I've got onions and cilantro out there to round out that recipe. And I've also got green beans, carrots and dill growing out there. Yum!

I grew up with a big garden, so I can't quit bring myself to subscribe to the square-foot gardening method. Things just seem too crowded to grow really well. I do take advantage of interplanting early crops with later ones, like planting green beans right next to the peas that will soon be done for the season and throwing herbs in around the edges of the garden or wherever I think they'll grow. My dill is growing right in the middle of all the peas and thriving.

Since I'm actually tending to the garden this year, it's one of the things that's keep me from blogging as much as usual. Sorry about that, but the payoff is delicious!

© Trippin' Mama 2011