Vegetable Garden- Week 1

by Amy Stevens AdamscloseAuthor: Amy Stevens Adams Name: Amy Stevens Adams
Email: amy@capecodbranding.com
Site: http://capecodbranding.com
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Last week John and I planted a vegetable garden in the planter on our back deck. I hired a container gardener, Fiona, to help assist with the design, planting, and in general teaching me how to care for our new plants. To read our first article on how we set up our container garden with Fiona and to see pictures check out John’s post “The Container Gardener”.

That was a week ago. Since then, we’ve done a bit with the garden, but mostly it’s a waiting game until all the plants are mature (with the exception of some of the herbs I planted which are ready now). The biggest garden-related project we had was weathering a rainstorm on Friday. You can read about our solution to protecting the new seeds from the rain and wind in my article “Saving My Seedlings”.

Aside from that, I had a bit of fun clipping some of the herbs. I’ve been out there regularly getting mint for our iced tea. I’m so addicted to it! I make a fresh pitcher of iced tea almost daily in the summer and I love being able to tuck a big sprig of mint into the ice cubes at the top of glass. Beautiful, fragrant and delicious! Although John prefers a slice of lemon in his tea, and I did buy a Meyer Lemon tree to keep in the kitchen. It is currently about 12″ tall and Fiona says it will triple in size this year and I’ll get fruit off it in the first year. I’m VERY excited about that!

I’ve also cut a bit of parsley and am drying it to save for later use. Every Autumn my mom sends me a big gallon ziplock bag of dried parsley from her garden and I use it all Winter. This will be my first time drying it for myself. Her directions for drying herbs are as follows (and this can be used for almost any herb that is hardy enough to dry);

Directions for drying fresh herbs

1. Wash the cut herb and lay it on a paper towel to soak up the excess water

2. Place herb on a paper towel in the microwave and cover with another paper towel

3. Microwave 1-2 minutes, stopping to check it frequently, until it is crispy

4. Store in a ziplock bag to keep fresh

I’ve used mine for up to 6 months (and then it runs out), but it might last longer if stored in a cool, dark cabinet. (I never store my spices in the cabinet above the microwave because it gets too hot and sometimes moist).

Here are pictures of our garden at 1 week old. The lettuce, carrot and radish seeds are just beginning to sprout and fill in between the half-moon rows of basil in the center of the planter.

On the other side of the deck, our rose has some new buds that should bloom in the next few days.

Also, we’ve added a hanging flower outside the sliding door to the master bedroom.

More updates weekly. Enjoy!

-Amy Stevens Adams of Cape Cod Branding

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