What have I been doing this summer? Working and gardening mostly.
During the second week of July, I attended a christian camp with a small group of youth from church. It was a fun weekend of games, fellowship, and anointed church services. Now, I'm not an extroverted person by any means. I'm not outgoing or have a lot of friends. But even I know that it's important to be involved in events like these every now and then, just to reconnect with friends and acquaintances, to hear testimonies from other young people, to be able to separate yourself from your daily routine just for a few days and immerse yourself in a different atmosphere.
In a couple of weeks our church has a camping get-away planned up towards northern Ontario. This will be our second year doing this. Last year was a lot of fun, though it was a bit chaotic and disorganized -- but we're learning! :) One thing you can guarantee with annual events is that it can get better every year.
How's my garden?
Right now the cucumbers are on a roll! I've picked quite a handful the past week. Fresh cucumbers seasoned with vinegar, salt, and pepper-- so good! I've been eating it almost every day. :)
I also have picked several zucchini... I left a few for a couple of days and they ended up gigantic. But no problem... I'm planning on making zucchini bread and cake this week. My family has always loved zucchini bread--ever since we started a vegetable garden, zucchini had to be on the list every year. And while there are a lot of ways you can prepare zucchini, our favourite way to eat it is in dessert.
I am still waiting for the first ripe tomato -- they're taking forever it seems.
There are a few tomatillo fruits I am watching as well -- this is my first year growing them and I am curious as to how they will taste, and what I can do with them.
I only planted one, but the plant is massive -- it has taken over an entire corner, and it is covered with bright yellow blooms. I read somewhere that you need two tomatillo plants in order to get fruit. But I went ahead and hand-pollinated a bit and it seems to have worked.
We've harvested some eggplants as well. They are a perfect addition to breakfast when fried. We also love them in soup. I have never made eggplant Parmesan, but the recipe keeps on coming up in suggestions, so I'm going to have to try it one of these days.
Speaking of eggplants, we have had a few seedlings pop up in the spot we had fairytale eggplants last year. I love surprises haha. My plan is to pull out the peas (which are starting to dry out), and transplant the eggplant seedlings in its place.
I am seriously learning so much about vegetable gardening. I only started taking an interest the last three years. It started when we planted a garden one year and no one else in the family cared to really look out for it -- so I did. I was like a little child, going out to check on the growth several times a day, ha. (I still do this.) The following year, I did the planting, weeding, and harvesting. And I started researching and figuring out what I can do better the following season. I am now officially the gardener of the family -- alongside my dad. He loves it too and he works in it as much as he can even though he's much busier than I. He built the enclosure for the garden, along with the raised beds. He also had the great idea to install siding gutters along the inside of the fence, where he planted a bunch of lettuce and radishes.
I'm looking at planting some carrots for a fall harvest. I've never planted carrots before.
And increasingly, I just want to plant more flowers in any spare area. I love the pop of colour, the interest it adds to the garden space, and of course -- the way it helps attract the ever-important pollinators.
I can talk about gardening forever... I wish the growing season here in Ontario was longer... I have so much I want to do! :D
Right now the cucumbers are on a roll! I've picked quite a handful the past week. Fresh cucumbers seasoned with vinegar, salt, and pepper-- so good! I've been eating it almost every day. :)
I also have picked several zucchini... I left a few for a couple of days and they ended up gigantic. But no problem... I'm planning on making zucchini bread and cake this week. My family has always loved zucchini bread--ever since we started a vegetable garden, zucchini had to be on the list every year. And while there are a lot of ways you can prepare zucchini, our favourite way to eat it is in dessert.
I am still waiting for the first ripe tomato -- they're taking forever it seems.
There are a few tomatillo fruits I am watching as well -- this is my first year growing them and I am curious as to how they will taste, and what I can do with them.
I only planted one, but the plant is massive -- it has taken over an entire corner, and it is covered with bright yellow blooms. I read somewhere that you need two tomatillo plants in order to get fruit. But I went ahead and hand-pollinated a bit and it seems to have worked.
We've harvested some eggplants as well. They are a perfect addition to breakfast when fried. We also love them in soup. I have never made eggplant Parmesan, but the recipe keeps on coming up in suggestions, so I'm going to have to try it one of these days.
Speaking of eggplants, we have had a few seedlings pop up in the spot we had fairytale eggplants last year. I love surprises haha. My plan is to pull out the peas (which are starting to dry out), and transplant the eggplant seedlings in its place.
I am seriously learning so much about vegetable gardening. I only started taking an interest the last three years. It started when we planted a garden one year and no one else in the family cared to really look out for it -- so I did. I was like a little child, going out to check on the growth several times a day, ha. (I still do this.) The following year, I did the planting, weeding, and harvesting. And I started researching and figuring out what I can do better the following season. I am now officially the gardener of the family -- alongside my dad. He loves it too and he works in it as much as he can even though he's much busier than I. He built the enclosure for the garden, along with the raised beds. He also had the great idea to install siding gutters along the inside of the fence, where he planted a bunch of lettuce and radishes.
I'm looking at planting some carrots for a fall harvest. I've never planted carrots before.
And increasingly, I just want to plant more flowers in any spare area. I love the pop of colour, the interest it adds to the garden space, and of course -- the way it helps attract the ever-important pollinators.
I can talk about gardening forever... I wish the growing season here in Ontario was longer... I have so much I want to do! :D
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