Our Summer Garden

I have been wanting a fruit/vegetable garden in our backyard since we moved in almost two years ago. But our yard is small and we couldn't find the space....until a few months ago when Adam made some space! He went outside and about an hour later came in to show me my new homemade planter box. It's over on the side of our house where we get a lot of direct sun. Perfect for growing food!

In early June I chose a few things to plant and laid them out.

Lucas helped me plant and water:

And I began to wonder if I could have squeezed a few more plants in to the space.....but then a couple weeks later the plants started to spread nicely.


And some fruit started to appear!

I planted a tomato, parsley, basil, zucchini, cucumber, yellow chili pepper, green pepper, strawberry, watermelon and pumpkin. Every morning when I go out to water at least one of the kids joins me to check on our garden's progress. Ryan in particular has been really excited about watching our food grow! I must admit I don't know a lot about gardening but it's a topic I wish I knew more about.

So now here we are in August. And I can't believe how much our garden has grown!! (I don't think I needed to buy any more plants. Ha!)

Even since I took these photos last week everything has grown and spread out more. The pumpkin plant in particular has crept along the path at least another foot. Crazy!

Our watermelon plant has 5 watermelons, and I'm hoping they all grow to full size.

My tomato plant is taller than me now! I have at least 10 tomatoes on it and one of them turned red this morning, so I may be eating garden tomatoes soon!

My yellow chili pepper plant is fantastic! I have picked 5 chili peppers so far and they definitely pack a spicy punch. So far all I've used them for is salsa (specifically, this recipe), but I'd love some new ideas.

 I am also loving my cucumber plant! I've picked 4 so far and they have such a great fresh taste.

However, my zucchini plant is a big disappointment. It is huge and leafy and has tons of blossoms...but no zucchinis! I don't know much about gardening, but after doing some internet research I think my plant only has male blossoms. Without female blossoms, it can't produce fruit. I have no idea how to solve this problem, so we may not have zucchini this year. I'm having the same issue with my pumpkin plant. Tons of growth and blossoms, but no fruit. Does anyone have any advice?

So I'd call my summer garden a success! Do you have a summer garden? I'm already looking forward to planting broccoli and cabbage and brussels sprouts in a few months.