Project: Sprout & About

August was amazing in the sprout garden.

I had been waiting for many months and returned day after day, eagerly waiting to see if I would ever get anything on the table from the greenhouse or from the garden plot. And now, it’s like nature took a quick spin, ripened a tomato, then another one, and so it went on and on. Suddenly, we were all already fed up with the amount of zucchinis we got. Well, at least it required a lot of creativity to know what to do with all of them! But, needless to say, I was very pleased. Like doing a little happy scream, like nodding contentedly by myself with a side smile when I picked up a cucumber in the greenhouse. It’s such a small thing, but damn, wasn’t it satisfying to think that I made that, and I made it all the way from the seed! Months of work was starting to pay off 🙂

Now, we are heading fast towards fall, and truth be told, I have already said goodbye to several plants. Just as quickly as those few warm summer days came, they were over, and we would start seeing fallen leaves on the grass. I have been doing quite big cleanups too, and it has had a big effect on how the greenhouse is looking today. Now, in September, I start to feel like doing the cleanups is a constant task, and there’s no getting around the fact that some plants are nearing the end of their life cycle. On the other hand, to replace those empty spots, I have sown some new plants… I just cannot let go of the growing season quite yet!

Anyway, I figured that sharing about the harvests will require several posts. I have so many photos of the harvest that it would otherwise get overwhelming.

Below, I created a basic calendar with an overview of how sowing and harvesting were spread throughout the months. In this post, I will start with the herbs, radish, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

Yes, the wait was long, but now, while collecting the fruit, it feels like it was all worth it ❤

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Easier said than done? I am talking about growing the herbs! Firstly, I have been LOVING picking the herbs from the garden. It has been absolutely fantastic collecting fresh herbs from the garden to the table. I wouldn’t do anything else than wonder how much of a difference a fresh bunch of parsley or crispy thyme has made in our dishes. We have made chimichurris, bolognese sauces, vegetable soups, and stews, and that special aroma it adds is absolutely delicious. Sure, it wasn’t easy to grow these herbs. Of course, I had dill and parsley die at the first try in May, and some basil dried out in the greenhouse, too. They are simple plants, yes. But oh, you bet they require the same amount of care as any other of my brave sprouts.

The rosemary was the only herb I bought from the store. A few months back, as I was struggling with some pest problems, I was given some mint and oregano, too, that I planted near the entrance of the greenhouse.

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Oh, radish. I must be honest about this crazy sprout. I am not the biggest fan of radish, but surely, it’s still fun to grow it. It grows quite fast, and I got to harvest it in summer after about 4 weeks from sowing it. When we were buying the seeds earlier in the year, in all the excitement, we had a little mix-up and picked a third radish variety instead of another tomato. So there I was with three different types of radish and fewer tomatoes, but that was alright.

At least I had fun watching them grow.

And on the positive side, having a fast grower means I could still keep enjoying the art of growing long into the summer! In the middle of the garden plot, I also had potatoes, whose stems later suffered from a potato blight, and I had to harvest the potatoes quite early. What to do with the space now?

You guessed it, the empty spot was the perfect place for more radish!

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Tomatoes. I have certainly learned many lessons growing tomatoes. I think I approached growing them a bit too naively, thinking that it would be easy to succeed. And partly it’s true, you don’t need to make too many tricks, but sticking to routines and basics gets you a long way. Next time, I will know to pay attention to regular watering and not plant them near the potatoes. The tomatoes that grew in the garden plot quickly suffered from the same disease that got to the potatoes.

Luckily, the harvest in the greenhouse was more of a success. Now I know, that the bigger the garden bed, the juicier the tomatoes ❤

The marinade variety had a rough start since the beginning, and many of those had already grown bad. Sad, but I guess I was prepared to something like this happening.

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Harvesting cucumbers was rewarding. Once the plants started to grow, their yellow flowers would brighten the greenhouse, and fruits would keep coming one after the other. I had two different varieties, Marketmore and Wisconsin, both of which had very thick skin. They were perfect for making pickles, but in salads, for instance, they had to always be peeled.

The same learning that went with the tomatoes goes with the cucumbers as well: remember to check the watering levels regularly, and the harvest will be nice and juicy.

Putting the pictures here makes me realize how amazing it is how much one garden can provide. We entered the harvesting season with a rush and sometimes couldn’t even know what to do with all these fruits. It’s almost over for the cucumbers, but thinking back to August, when we had an abundance of things to eat, was glorious. I am still mesmerized by the beauty of growing and harvesting own goodies ❤

And so, I think it is safe to say that Project Sprout & About has made it with these baby sprouts, and soon I will be sharing how it went with the other ones, too!