Liz's Amazing Garden Adventure

July 19, 2010 – Being a novice gardener, part of me thought nothing would grow, but the other part wished it would flourish, leaving me with way too many vegetables to eat on my own. As of now, neither has happened, and I’ve harvested one cucumber and one zucchini. The zucchini was huge before I realized it was on the vine! Lightly sautéed in olive oil with summer squash from the Farmer’s Market made a wonderful vegetable dish.

My cucumber did not have as elegant a life. It was very small and as it grew larger, it turned yellow. I was not sure if I should have picked it when it was small and green, or if it would turn green again once it got larger. I left it on the vine and while it grew larger, it stayed yellow. After reading that a yellowing cucumber should not be left on the vine, I picked it. Surprisingly, it was quite tasty, once I peeled the tough skin. I’m going to look through some gardener books for beginners at the library so that I can learn when to pick the rest of the cucumbers. Or maybe you can advise!

This is the first ever vegetable garden at Clay Corner Inn, and the next two weeks were very productive! There are two more zucchinis and a ton of green tomatoes. My one pepper plant has the tiniest baby peppers on it with some white flowers. Sadly, my yellow squash plant and my other pepper plant are too close to the garage to get enough sun. I’ve lost the pepper plant, and the squash plant has not grown nearly as large as the zucchini. I’m hopeful that my garden will have a large harvest soon, and I’ll be able to share some vegetables with you. I’m also excited to have home-grown salads with the lettuce I’m getting from John’s garden!

I’m a regular at the Wed. and Sat. Blacksburg Farmer’s Market, as much as I can be around my responsibilities here at the inn. Since I have Wednesdays off, you’ll find me browsing all the produce and never leaving empty-handed. I’ll show you the way if you’re here on Wednesday – it’s an easy four-block walk. If you’re lucky enough to stay at Clay Corner Inn over the next few weeks – it’s really busy here now - you may have zucchini muffins with my very first home grown vegetables! Liz