Beverly, Beverly, how does your garden grow? With patience, water, sunshine…and a whole lot of fertile soil! Cucumbers, Zucchinis, Tomatoes, Peppers, Strawberries, Watermelon, Cantaloupe and Herbs…
This is my first ‘Minnesota’ veggie garden! I’m proud to say that things look better than anticipated. Even after Mother Nature’s hail storm that leveled a lot of my plants that Nishad and I started from seeds (I was teaching him about the seasons). Which, in turn, was a good lesson for him; Despite our plans, there are things we can’t control. However, we can control our reaction to them. SO! Nishad, Arun and I went out and purchased a few little veggies to supplement the ones we ‘lost’ in the storm. Even after Arun was in the store- strangling- the plants (as everything seems to be in his reach these days), they too managed to thrive.
I started off my first year with a ‘smaller’ garden as I wanted test the waters, per-say. I wasn’t sure if I would have the time with a toddler and an infant, and honestly, I didn’t know if anything would grow well enough for us to reap the benefits. Well, I suppose if the farmers can do it here on the Great River Road (where we live was once farm land- now a developed sub-division thanks to urban sprawl), so can Farmer Beverly!
Who knows, at this rate, maybe I’ll be feeding the entire neighborhood! With the semolina out-break with tomatoes and peppers and the high cost of produce today, this isn’t only ‘fun’ but something that I feel confident about feeding my family, convenient and cost effective.
Imprints: Nothing like having Mom tell you to go into the garden and get a fresh cucumber! Cucumbers were always my favorite growing-up. I use to wish my Mom wouldn’t plant so many tomato plants so there would be more room for the cucs! I read an article about how kids that are involved in planting gardens, eat more veggies. They get to see the process and build up anticipation for the fruit of their labor. My Mom told me how she would eat tomatoes like apples when she was a kid. I’m going to attempt that this year!
My kinda town- Saint Paul! I think if Ashish and I knew what we know now, we definitely would have looked to purchase a house in Saint Paul. It’s a very artsy, educated, cultured, family friendly city. They have some of the best festivals I’ve ever attended too! 
