Incredible Edibles from my Veranda Veggie Patch

“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.” – Gertrude Jekyll

It's been a while since I had my own garden but my love for growing and nurturing our green friends started early for me. As a 6-year old, moving to a new home, I negotiated with the family that yes, I would take the smallest bedroom on the condition that I could have some of the garden. That little meter square of dirt became my sanctuary. I would walk home from school each afternoon and tend to my garden while I waited for mum to return from work. I would tend to it all weekend, digging the dirt with a tiny shovel and letting my imagination run wild. I grew everything from azalias to zinneas and at one point it was a 'flower pressing factory' filled with violets and pansies ready for the flower press.  Those flowers then found their fate in my homemade recycled paper or in a vase in my bedroom.

My move to the beautiful Sunshine Coast (and the ever-increasing price of greens) has prompted me to rediscover my passion for the pastures. A couple of months ago, I created a veranda veggie garden using some old pots and poly boxes from the green grocer. I planted lettuce varieties, asian greens, green beans, kale, strawberries, tomatoes, celery, chillies and all of our most-used herbs. I love watering it every morning before work, it really does bring me back to earth and create space in my mind before I set off on my day. I love using that time each morning to see what's thriving and ready for our dinner table that night. Michael and I can't eat the lettuce fast enough to keep up with its growth spurts, our herbs are thriving and we've already put our favourite Ayurvedic Tomato Curry on the menu for next week when our tomatoes should be bursting red.

There's something pretty rewarding about growing your own veggies. It saves you money, is gratifying for the soul and you have complete control over what you are putting in your body. I recommend it to anyone, even better if you can enrol your child, niece or nephew or young neighbour and help them learn while having fun.

Here are the geen beans I picked from our small garden on the weekend. So fresh and delicious in our soup!

Here are some tips to get the best from your beans:

• The secret to maximising your production is to pick them often.  The more you pick, the more they will grow! 
• Beans are at their best when young and tender because the seeds inside haven't over-developed.
• If beans snap crisply, they are perfect for eating.  If they feel spongy when lightly squeezed in the middle, they may be too mature to enjoy so allow to dry out and save for seeds.
• To prolong your harvest, aim to pick and freeze beans on the same day.  First rinse in cool water, drain and then trim the ends and cut to your preferred length before blanching in boiling water for 3 minutes.  Plunge immediately into iced water to stop them cooking. After 3 minutes, drain and package into freezer bags, removing as much air as possible to avoid freezer burn.  If you follow these instructions, your beans will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months!

ENJOY!