Zucchini vs. Tomatoes

It's been a while since I've mentioned my garden, so I figure it's time for an update.  In the battle between zucchini and tomatoes in my garden this year, there was no competition.  The season started out fairly even and at the end of June we had one delicious zucchini and four plants that seemed to be thriving.

First and only zucchini of the 2011 season.

Before I knew it though, I went out one day to find my zucchini plants rotting from the inside out.  I was so upset since I loved picking my lovely zucchini from my garden in Ethiopia.  I'm not sure what kind of critter got into the system, but whatever it was the zucchini plants didn't have a chance.  The good news is that the rest of my garden seemed to survive the invasion.

All of my zucchini plants looked like this. Any idea what happened?

I left for Europe in July just as the tomatoes were starting to ripen, and they haven't stopped since! Chances are, if you've come to my house in the past few weeks, you haven't been allowed to leave without a bag of tomatoes!  I have more than I could possibly eat by myself, so I'm glad my friends like them too.

My garden, July 2011

I'm also still hopeful for the green onions and I think a few carrots survived too.  The basil is flourishing in the garden, and doing well in the pots on our porch as well.  I've been cooking up a storm with all that I have, so check back to see what I've come up with!

Tomatoes galore!

Suburban Gardening

First, I want to say that I have safely arrived in Luxembourg and I have almost adjusted to the time change already! It's great to be back here in the mild summer and away from the Georgia heat.  I'm taking today to relax a bit and the topic on my mind is my garden back home.

Although I've grown up surrounded by my mother's beautiful garden oasis, I had never had experience with growing vegetables before my time in Ethiopia.  As part of our "in-service training" from Peace Corps, my group of volunteers received a three-day "Permaculture" training, teaching us how to build small household gardens.  Their hopes were that we would return to our respective towns/villages, and pass on our knowledge to neighbors and groups needing extra nutrients.

About a year after that training, inspired by my favorite read of Peace Corps, I dug my first garden bed ever. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle really changed the way I viewed gardening, and it motivated me to produce my own food. It was especially fun since many of my favorite vegetables (zucchini, green beans, and yellow corn) were rare and expensive in Ethiopia; so, why not just grow them myself? I started the garden on a whim, but it definitely paid off in the end.

When I returned home in April I realized that I had no excuse not to continue my gardening in Georgia.  My mom allowed me to dig up a section of our dying backyard grass, and once again inspired by literature, I began planting my second garden ever. This time I was reading Michael Pollan's Second Nature and knew that if I hurried, I could still get my seeds in the ground in late April.  Three days later, I had my garden beds ready for seeds. If I learned nothing else during those Peace Corps trainings, I do remember this: double dig, and use plenty of compost!

Digging my garden. It wound up being two beds this size.

I have plenty of stories about my American garden thus far, but for now I have to go enjoy the beautiful day here in Luxembourg!