My First Vegetable Garden

by Marie
(Beech Grove, IN USA)

I should title this My First "Successful" Vegetable Garden...I attempted a garden years ago when I lived in the High Desert of California & also owned goats. The goats and the desert won out.

When my husband and I purchased this home in Central Indiana late last year I was determined to have my own vegetable garden. I had no idea just how important it would become in my daily life; nor did I realize just how abundant a yield it would produce.

My in-laws gave me a gift of their old roto-tiller...Who would have thought I could fall in love with a piece of garden equipment?!

It is thanks to the tiller that I was able to treat my soil to the organic manure and peat that it needed to actually become a garden.

My wonderful garden has provided me with a place to relax as well as a place to work hard. The hard work has been rewarded. I know what went into this soil and on my plants.

I intended to garden organically and I did just that. There were times I wished I could find the strongest insecticide to do away with pests such as squash bugs, but I refrained & went strictly organic.

I have a great sense of accomplishment and am extremely proud of my garden. You will see tomatoes & peppers in the foreground of the photo, the tops of brussell sprouts behind the Italian Pear tomato, bi-color sweet corn in the distance as well as sweet basil beside it.

I also grew zuchinni, cucumber, broccoli, eggplant, sweet & hot peppers galore, heirloom tomatoes, watermelon, cantalope as well as an assortment of herbs.

I have just planted the "Frosty" variety of peas for a late Fall harvest. I can guarantee that I will have a garden again next year...and, thanks to that tiller, probably a smaller lawn to mow & more produce to harvest in my even larger vegetable garden for 2008.