Three and a half weeks. That is how long the kids and I were in Florida. After having planted our huge garden out back in late May and early June, we left it in the care of Kurt while we traveled south. Now, when we left, the plants were all seedlings and starter plants: tiny, pathetic looking things, some seemingly unsustainable looking in that great big space.
Then it rained and the sun shined and Kurt tended the garden ever so carefully. And we came back to a forest of tomato plants that had pulled their cages out of the ground and were grabbing out for anything they might catch a hold of while falling every which way, cucumber and squash vines that had all but taken over an entire side of the fence, bell peppers spilling forth, peas and beans coming out the wazoo, baby lettuce that was far past its edibility...and then there was the zucchini plant. Having claimed a rather modest section of the garden to itself, it was healthy but looked like a pretty regular plant as far as I could tell. And then I looked to see if there was anything ready to pick.
Have you ever tried to explain to a guy that there are things in life that are not better when bigger? Let's just say, there is a reason they don't sell zucchini like this in the grocery store. (For starters, it would cost you like $10 upfront, not to mention the medical costs later for throwing your back out loading it into the cart....)
At least the girls got a kick out of it. And who knows, maybe it will give us the urge to enter some veggies in the state fair one of these years....
Holy cow, those are insane!! Maybe Kurt can work on some basil for me??
ReplyDeleteActually Kathy, we have basil coming out our ears practically! Our plant is so big I can hardly keep up with it! :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, we always grew zucchini that big. I didn't even see the small grocery store-sized zucchini until I was in my twenties. The big ones are good for making my mom's fried zucchini. She mixed flour and brown sugar together, sliced the zucchini super-thin, and dredged the slices in the flour mixture. She fried them in a little bacon fat from the jar under the kitchen sink until they were golden brown. Oh man, were they good! She would do the same thing with firm ripe tomatoes. Ah, memories!
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