A Garden

Last night we had the first frost of the season! This morning our tomato plants, peppers, and basil were all quite wilted. It is the end of the growing season here in the Salt Lake City area and we spent some of today harvesting the last of our garden. 

 Tomatoes (we had 9 plants- 4 of which came up from seeds that were from last year), yellow squash, zucchini, butternut squash, watermelon (this is the 3rd big one we've gotten this year from 1 plant, I'm doubting whether the little ones will be any good), egg plant, basil.

 Bell peppers. Given more time all of these would have turned red. Red ones taste so much better in my opinion!

Jalapenos. These also turn red with age and I think the red ones are less hot. Anyone want some? There's no way we can eat all of these! (All from 1 plant!)

This year we also tried out corn, Swiss chard, rosemary, sage, and pumpkins (this actually grew by itself from a seed left in the ground last year and yielded 3 pumpkins). If you are considering planting a garden but are afraid to try--don't be! Its as simple as planting a seed in {good} ground and watering it 2-3 times a week. Or get a veggie start from your local plant nursery. This year we planted the day after Mother's Day. The end of May is about the time you can start planting in Utah. There is not much maintenance required for gardening except for watering, picking, and a little pruning (only if you want to prune).

You can also incorporate edible plants into your landscape. We choose to do this with perennial plants (the ones that come back every year). Some of the perennials that are planted in our yard, which we enjoyed this year, are: parsley, oregano, mint, thyme, rhubarb, blackberries, and strawberries. We have also planted raspberries and asparagus which are perennial although we didn't get anything from them this year.

Part of the fun of having a garden is sharing it. The 3 years we've planted gardens we've always had more than we can eat. Its been a great way to get to know our neighbors and share our blessings with them. We live in an interesting place where our little brick house is surrounded by town homes and twin-homes, most of these people don't really have a yard or a place to plant a garden and so we are glad to plant a little extra and pass things around. We have been know to just put extra produce in a big bucket with a sign to our neighbors 'Please Take', just to get rid of the excess!