Just checking in . . .

Remember our veggie garden? The one that started out looking like this?

And after a little lot of work, we expanded its size and added plants, herbs, and more dirt. Got it looking better -- good, even -- but still somewhat underwhelming?


Well, I'm happy to report it's bursting at the seams as of this morning.

Blame it on the rain -- we've had buckets of it -- but holy moly!


We've got at least three heirloom tomatoes making their way from bud to bulbous . . . I'm already dreaming of fresh mozzarella salads with homegrown tomatoes and basil picked in our back yard.


The onions went from yellow and limp to green and robust . . . (though, we have absolutely no idea when they are "done" growing -- any ideas?)


Overall, we both have this new appreciation for watching things grow this year. So far, our girl has ballooned from some thing the size of a poppy seed to a living, moving (moving a LOT!) being the size of a mango.

Let me repeat that: A MANGO.

And to think, just a few short months ago, she would have been totally dwarfed by this fledgling bell pepper!


I know many of you had gardens started early in the spring . . . or ones you threw together last minute (like us!). How are they doing? Do you know when the optimal harvest time is, or do you just pluck things off vines whenever they look kinda/sorta ready?

We definitely do the latter. No shame about it.

In other news: If you're interested in how we're getting in the girl mood, check out (never home)maker, baby! -- I'm in love with our fun, thrifty finds!

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Help Us! How Does Your Garden Grow?

My left hamstring has been incredibly tight since the race, so this weekend will likely not mean a long run for me. So, I'm trying to plan my days accordingly. Trying to fill them to the brim with production and relaxing activities. Tomorrow we're spending an "intimate evening" with Andy Samberg (really, that's what the poster says for the event). And I couldn't be more thrilled. If you've been living under a rock, Andy Samberg is on SNL. He's hilarious. Google him.

Anyway, Saturday's weather is supposed to be especially brilliant (yes, too much of Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution), so we're planning a 20-mile bike trek to a nearby river town. 40 miles in all. That is, if our bikes are in OK condition to make sure a voyage. I'm sure after a quick tune-up, we'll be good to go.


But another item on the agenda is to start planting a garden. We have a (very) small plot (probably 3 feet by 5 feet) in our backyard where we've grown anything from basil to pumpkins to peppers. We even grew that proud pumpkin you see below. But how that happened is an entirely different story. Basically, Stephen is the expert of the two of us in this particular area. I don't have a green thumb. Really, it's more out of choice than lack of talent. I just haven't gotten into the whole growing and gardening thing. But I'd like to try.




As I mentioned in my last Foodie Book Club post -- one of my goals is to make a meal using entirely locally grown ingredients. Of course, it's be cool if those ingredients could not only be grown in my zip code, but also at my own address. What do you think?

Here's the thing. We could totally use your help with this project. We have the time. We have a small budget. We even have some compost we could throw on there (more about that in another post). And we certainly have the desire to grow a little garden.

• But -- most importantly -- what should we grow? (Veggies, herbs, etc.?)
• Should we expand the plot to allow room for variety?
• What plants do well with little maintenance?
• What plants are the most rewarding, even if they're difficult to maintain?
• Should we go with seeds or small plants?
• How should we organize everything?
• How can we keep critters out? (We live in town, but still -- we get animals.)

Yeah. We could Google it. We could read books. We likely will do all those things. But we'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Please, please, please leave us a comment or email us at neverhomemaker@gmail.com.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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