✴ mon petit potager

This summer, my little kitchen garden has done me proud.

To this novice gardener the bounty of fresh vegetables humbly produced using the wing and a prayer, 'just bung it in and see' approach to creating a vegetable plot {for the very first time} has been triumphant, nay a small miracle.

I wouldn't say we can give up the supermarket and live gluttonously from the land...um, no...definitely not. But it has certainly been a while since I had to buy salad leaf, courgettes and other bits of veg.

Disappointing :: Strawberries, Carrots, Garlic, Spinach {first sowings}, Blueberries, Rhubarb {because I couldn't touch it in the first year of sowing!}

Harvested :: Onions, Shallots, Baby Beets, Gooseberries, Whitecurrants, Radishes, Swiss Chard, Rocket, Mizuna, Cos Lettuce, Mini Cucumbers, Greengages, Tomatoes, Pea Shoots

Picking :: Courgettes, Runner Beans, Spinach {second sowings}, Peppers, Chilli Peppers

Growing :: Turnips, Spring Cabbage

It's a learning process. Some things will flourish, while others will fail. 

It's not all down to following the directions on a packet of seeds....wildlife and weather can play a big part in determining a successful crop. At first I was a bit upset that the majority of my carrots were eventually ruined by carrot fly infestation, but then in a 'les miserables' sort of way I pulled myself together and thought..."next year, I'll build better barricades..."

If you only grow one thing, grow...

Pea Shoots!

Here's how;

Go to the supermarket and buy a pack of dried peas {I used Batchelors 'Bigga'}

Fill a pot with compost.

Scatter a good handful of dried peas over the compost.

Press down each pea into the soil.

Water and wait...

About 2 - 3 weeks later..

Cut pea shoots and eat...

in salads, risotto, pesto......etc....

Watch the shoots grow again and cut and eat again.....!

Thanks to The Edible Garden for introducing me to the easy peasy {!} way to grow these little lovelies {and sooo pricey in the shops don't you know!}

A selection of peafect recipes here...

Bon Appeatit!