My Ugly Happy Place
One Spontaneous Weekend: A Beginner's Journey to Growing Vegetables
This all happened so quickly! I’ve been dreaming of growing my own food for years, and then one weekend, it all came together in just a day.
It was one of the first days this year in England that we could associate with summer, the sun was out, the temperature was ridiculous and my partner and I decided to create a vegetable plot. He spent the day assembling wooden beds and filling them with the compost that we’d been nurturing for quite some time. He would disappear into the woods with our squeaky wheelbarrow and a shovel in hand, only to emerge looking like he was near death, drenched in sweat but victorious with a barrow full of fresh compost. Meanwhile, I set up a shaded escape area for us, complete with snacks and cool water from the fridge. As he filled the barrow, I spread the compost in the beds. Teamwork at its finest!
After a full day of building our veggie patch, I fully expected to wake up and find everything munched by rabbits or deer (remember that fiasco I mentioned last time?). At 5:45 am, my alarm went off, and I dashed out to the garden in my wellies and dressing gown to check on our hard work. To my delight, everything was still neatly planted and untouched—hooray!
To avoid any future wildlife feasts, my mum kindly pulled out a polytunnel that my dad had bought a while back. Sure, it had a few mouse nibbles, but it was perfect for the job and would keep our veg protected. My other half got to work assembling it, and the three of us tugged and twisted the cover into place. We stepped back to admire our work, and all I could think was, “Wow, that’s ugly!” I might have been hoping for an elegant glass Victorian greenhouse, but what I got was a gigantic ugly tent. Still, by the evening, it had become my little haven—my ugly happy place full of growing goodness.
As we were a bit late to the party, we decided to buy some pre-sprouted veg this year. Next year, I’ll try my hand at growing from seeds, but for now, here’s what we’ve got growing in the veg beds.
So far, we’ve learned that the cabbages and broccoli need more space than we thought. And as for the green beans? They’re looking pretty sad. I swear we grew these in primary school—so why am I struggling now?
On the bright side, our kale, cabbages, and broccoli are thriving! I’m so pleased with them. I even spotted a few tomatoes during my daily garden checks.
We’re learning as we go, flying by the seat of our pants with this project. It’s fun and exciting - everything might grow or not, but that’s how we’ll learn; through good old trial and error.
There's a lot to learn and I’d love to hear your best tips and tricks for growing healthy veggies. Feel free to share your wisdom - every bit of advice helps!
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Good job, bravo! And your hard work will certainly pay off. I don't have any nuggets of wisdom to share as I'm completely ignorant on that matter 😆 but Josie at Fashion Mumbler is really into gardening and has loads of tips on her YouTube channel here https://youtube.com/@josieirons?si=hPOEXLpE-zpiByOq