Rainbow is Right
I must say, there’s nothing quite like color in the vegetable garden. When I decided to launch the 5×5 Challenge, I quickly settled on the Rainbow Kitchen Collection from Renee’s Garden Seed. Seeing bright, colorful vegetables in the garden is an amazing sight.
This week I spotted the first yellow tomato in the 5×5 Garden. I must admit, the first one I spotted was quickly snagged from the vine and eaten. This photo is of the second one, which I have been wanting to eat, but decided I should wait until I got a photo.
The yellow summer squash are coming on as well, we’ve been enjoying them for breakfast.
When it comes to vegetables you can find them in a wide variety of colors. It really does add so much interest and beauty to a garden to have as many different colors as you can.
Which is your favorite color of vegetable?
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Take Stock and Learn
Now that the summer is starting to wind down, it’s time to start looking at your 5×5 Challenge Garden to see what you want to change and what you’ll keep exactly the same. When I look at my garden I notice it’s a bit over planted. Of course I somehow ended up with 3 zucchini plants instead of the 2 that were in my plan, so that is what caused most of my problem.
The sowing of lettuce was perfect, when I harvested it, there was plenty of room for the beans to expand and spill over into that space. Overall, I’d give my garden 4 out of 5, I’m very happy with the layout, the plan and how well it did. My zucchini plants are still going strong and providing lots of food for us and for the pigs.
What worked and what didn’t work in your garden this year? What changes are you going to make for next year?
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5X5 for Fall
Now that you’ve got your green thumb with your 5×5 Challenge Garden this summer, it’s time to start thinking about fall. No doubt your zucchini and bean plants will be exhausting themselves soon, maybe you’ve already harvested things and have empty spots in your garden. Think about planting things like: spinach, chard, lettuce, kale, and radishes. Their short growing season will let you get in at least one more harvest this year.
I find spinach to be one of my best fall crops, especially a winter hardy variety. Though I must admit, swiss chard is taking over that role, this is my first year growing it and I really like it so far!
What is your favorite quick growing fall vegetable?
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Bunches of Beans
The beans in the 5×5 Challenge garden are producing like mad. I harvested a goodly number of them a few days ago and we’ve been enjoying them for dinner ever since. I love these tri-color beans, they add a lot of interest when you’re harvesting.
It’s really hard to believe that only 2 months ago they were barely peeking out of the soil.
Bush beans are very prolific garden plants. My little garden only has 2 three foot rows and we’ll probably eat more beans than we want to this summer. Beans are the perfect beginner garden plant. The giant seedlings are very exciting, they grow fairly quickly and they produce like made. I’ve known several beginner gardener who were happiest with their beans. Oddly enough, I don’t grow a ton of beans in the garden. Perhaps I ate so many growing up I’d rather eat chard or kale than beans.
Do you grow beans in your garden? Which is your favorite variety?
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The 5×5 Jungle
I don’t know about your garden, but mine is a jungle. The zucchini plants have taken over, you can hardly see the sides of the raised bed. I’m not quite sure how I ended up with 3, my plan only included 2. They started producing fruit a few weeks ago and we’ve been enjoying then sautéed for breakfast.
The beans are just ready to pick and they’re quite prolific. It’s amazing how many beans you get from a small patch! The scallions aren’t ready just yet, but the marigolds are blooming.
All-in-all, I’m amazed at how much we’ve already eaten from this tiny garden and I haven’t picked a bean yet. I certainly hope all new gardeners are harvesting as much delicious food as I am.
What’s your favorite way to eat zucchini?
