The growing hand

I'm pretty sure my hand is not growing, but I use my hands to do my growing...I mean my fruits and vegetables and other general plants I have in my garden; it's one of those things in life which brings me happiness and contentment. When I'm working in my garden, or out there enjoying it, I feel at peace with where I am at that given moment and comfortable knowing my toil will repay me right then and when I get to enjoy the results of my effort down the track.

A few days ago I cleaned out my vegetable garden beds of the left-overs from winter growing. There's one cauliflower, just visible in one of the images below, left over, snow pea vines (still producing), some spinach and my eggplant however other than that...empty and ready for the next planting.

After some initial soil preparation I began to plant out a few things including sweet mama capsicums, continental cucumbers, some lettuce and a few herbs. I have more to plant out but wanted to get these started as soon as possible. The images here show them moments after planting so not at their best, but a few days later (now) they're looking pretty healthy and are growing well.

I've also had some tomatoes growing in pots for a short time and they're looking great and getting taller. I installed some climbing frames on them which will allow me to train them upwards and outwards which will promote more produce and I'm looking forward to a great crop. I've always had a lot of success with tomatoes so I see no reason to expect anything less.

My herbs are in a moveable pot so will end up living near my kitchen where I can pick what I need as I'm cooking. I have thyme, mint, coriander and rosemary in addition to those you see above, they're what I tend to cook with most.

I'll admit to heading out there daily and tending my garden, I like to be there of course, but I also like to keep a close eye on things, watch the growth and talk to them a little as that encourages growth...Sure, I eventually eat the buggers, but that's ok, they don't mind. That regular attention helps my garden stay in great shape and means I don't lose much through neglect as I'm on top of any issues quickly. It also means I don't have to spend hours at a time catching up (mostly) - a little effort, more often, is my style and my garden responds in kind.

How's your garden coming along? I don't think it matters if one has a large or small garden, a set of pots on the balcony or patio or simply a herb pot on the kitchen window sill, turning one's hand towards growing things brings personal enjoyment and happiness, in my humble opinion anyway. What about you? What's worked out, what hasn't and what have you currently got growing, or what would like to grow? Feel free to comment, I'd love to hear from you and will respond.