I was ridiculously excited when I dug down into the soil surrounding my potato plants. As my hand plunged into the warm soil my fingers touched the first potato I have ever grown. I actually squealed! I pulled out potato after wonderful potato. Their pale skin was flawless. They were perfect little potatoes. Grown by me in my own little garden.
It was lovely seeing an end result and we had a really good crop. I couldn't think of anything to do with them that would be better than simply boiling them in their skins. They were lovely and the children were happy to eat our home grown produce with their dinner.
My salad continues to grow. Picking the leaves when they are young makes for tender, fresh and tasty accompaniments to my meals. The assorted lettuces and the rocket add colour, texture and flavour to meals and sandwiches. The variety of colours and shapes adds interest. I even found a couple of radishes that had survived the caterpillars!
I never anticipated how good it would feel to grow my own produce. To pick it and eat it! I am definitely converted to growing my own! Although we didn't get huge amounts of produce, we all enjoyed eating what we grew. It added variety to our diet and the kids got to try some new things.
I have proved that you can do it even though you don't have a big garden. You can use pots and troughs and grow bags effectively in a small space. Recruiting the kids to help sow the seeds and pick the crops really helps them to learn about gardening, nature, where their food comes from and gives them an appreciation of the environment. It has been a really enjoyable challenge and I will definitely be giving it a go again next year!