I love gardening in the summer evenings. Picking weeds, admiring the colors of the sunset, listening to the birds chirping, feeling the cool breeze brush by, picking herbs or vegetables, watering all the plants and flowers… it is all enjoyable and I am grateful I can get outside, be in nature and enjoy a beautiful summer evening doing something I simply love.
I often think about the pioneers and the hard work they put in each day to keep their homestead running like having clean clothes to wear, water to drink and hearty meals on the table. Growing your own food, no matter how little or how much you are able to is such a satisfying feeling at the end of the day, and a great accomplishment to be proud of when summer is nearing an end.
Having a garden is a great way to reduce the cost of groceries, especially since most of us need to purchase the majority of what we eat. In pioneer times, they grew what fruits and vegetables they could, foraged for wild berries, raised animals all summer to butcher in the late fall, raised their own chickens for eggs, milked their cow, made their own cheese and butter, tapped maple trees for syrup in the spring, made soaps, went fishing, hunted in the fall time and either grew their grains or purchased them from the local mill. They still purchased goods from the general store, but they produced as much as they could. Being in the city, we may not be able to do a lot of this, but we definitely can grow a garden.
One thing I love is the community garden which allows us a garden plot to grow delicious vegetables and herbs. If you do not have access to this, do not worry! You can grow a few summer veggies right in your own backyard (or balcony)! We do not have an area just yet for a garden in our own backyard, but we do grow in containers or large flower pots — container gardens — right in our backyard. We plant things like lettuce, green onions (or spring onions), shallots, herbs, zucchini, potatoes, beans and peas in large, wide and deep, flower pot containers which you can easily do too – no matter how little space you have! Gardening can be simple if you are limited on space which will help you and your family (kids love gardening) enjoy some fresh summer goodies and at least reduce the grocery bill some, for at least a few months! I am thankful we are able to have a garden and purchase from local farmers too.
Let’s check on our garden!
The zucchini plant is starting to look unwell, but is still producing beautiful zucchini! It has been raining but has also been hot, and this particular planter needs to be watered more often as it dries out fairly quickly when it is hot out. We will be cleaning out the garden in a few weeks, so I am just continuing to water and hope to harvest as many zucchini as we can.
Zucchini are so versatile and I love cooking and baking with them. They are great in muffins, loaves and cakes or tossed into soups, pasta sauce, meatballs or even sauteed. They are great preserved in jams, relishes or even as pickles! Zucchini really are that versatile and one of my favorites to grow! They are simple to tend to as well.
The carrots are doing well and we have enjoyed a few fresh from the garden!
The beans are still producing wonderfully. We will not have enough to last all winter long, but we will preserve some into dills and mustard beans and enjoy them in a variety of soups or sauteed to have as side dishes with our meals.
The yellow wax beans are just as delicious and versatile as green beans. I always plant them both! I like sauteing beans, adding them to soups and stews or pickling them.
We have a few cucumbers growing which I am so pleased to see since many of our cucumber seeds did not come up this summer. One of the many challenges as a gardener.
They are still flowering which is wonderful, but if the evenings begin to get too cool, they may not have enough time to produce many cucumbers. So far, the weather has been great, but living in Alberta, you just never know! I sure hope I get to harvest an abundance of cucumbers!
And that is the latest update on our garden. Not much has changed with the other vegetables. The potatoes growing under all that dirt continue to get bigger, the sage and parsley are becoming more full, the dill heads are more yellow and are so fragrant. We do have a few annoying little critters in the garden, but we are doing our best to get rid of those pesky bugs (without harmful chemicals) and deter the moles from scalping all of our root vegetables! Gardening can have its challenges but is so rewarding too! Let us know what you love to grow in your gardens!
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours