Summertime Veggie Bonanza

Summer is one of the best times of the year for veggie gardeners because of the abundance of easy to grow vegetables that are available. Tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, herbs and much much more! I have three garden beds which I plant every year – one is dedicated to herbs and currently it’s growing basil, Thai basil, oregano, tarragon, lemon thyme,

thyme, parsley, green onions, chives, rosemary, mint, and catnip for the kitties. After you have planted some plans from year to year, you learn things to do and not to do, like rosemary bushes get really big, mint will take over, basil hates frost and cold weather and trim, trim and trim to keep it growing. I save all the “white” parts of the green onions and pop them back into the dirt and they grow all over again!

For the other two gardens, I rotate each year where I plant things. This year I have three types of tomatoes including heirloom, Roma, & cherry along with Tomatillo’s, eggplant, squash, poblano peppers, yellow, red and green bell peppers, serrano chili’s, cucumber and of course zucchini. Zucchini is the one plant where you blink and one day it’s 4 inches long and they next day it’s 8 inches long! Quick little suckers, Gotta keep your eye on those!

This year the first month of “summer” was cold and rainy but now we are deep into it and I can’t keep up and I’m one of those neighbors/friends that start asking – does anyone want any tomatoes? I do like gardening, my parents always had a garden and I do enjoy being out in the dirt and enjoying the spoils of the earth. You just can’t beat the taste of homegrown vegetables.

We also have fruit trees – Pluot (a cross between a plum and apricot), green apple, lemon, lime, newly planted this year apricot and of course the envy of everyone – an AVOCADO tree! The list is long for the volunteer takers of these lovelies!

With this wonderful garden and all its offerings, I love to use them in my food and share with friends, family and clients. Using fresh is always on the top of my list. I don't use any pesticides, so I know that I'm getting the best quality and healthiest of choices of veggies. It's such a thrill to walk into the garden and look and see what's ready for me to use and great to know I can walk out and shop from the garden. That is why summer is one of the best seasons especially for vegetables.

In the wintertime, I don't plant as much in the garden - but I do have a hydroponic garden that I have in the house that I do grow basil and parsley, so I always have that fresh all year round. Any thoughts on what I should grow in the winter? I'm very lucky to live in an area where I can grow just about anything!