Woks at the ready

The after work gardener, Wednesday 8 June 2011.

Having enjoyed the positivity of penning two posts free from death and destruction, it is with a sorry familiarity that I return to this theme.  Following the excitement of Saturday’s freshly grown feast and Monday’s home grown side-salad, it is back to the harsh reality of vegetable gardening with the final decline of my dishevelled courgette – unfortunately all the will in the world, and my careful binding with carpet-tape, just wasn't enough to save this poor little plant cruelly snapped in two by last week's high winds. 

As time gradually ticks onwards I find my skin slowly thickening to these regular losses, and I am learning not to take each failing so personally.  However, in more preventative endeavours to mitigate further botanical blunders, I have become an avid follower of the Guardian Gardening blog.  A recent post on Lettuce for lazy gourmets which - without putting my simple side salad too much in the shade - has entirely opened my eyes to a higher level of salad snobbery.  With the recommended 'Seeds of Italy' mix, and the distinct lack of effort involved, I could be harvesting the Holy Grail of my five-a-day in just one little line of leaves, impressing friends with a home-grown lettuce mix to envy the pre-washed, polythene packets sold in the supermarkets. 

Now, as good fortune would have it, it is through my new found Guardian Blog browsing that I have also managed to learn, from Jane Perrone’s comments, that not all is lost with courgette kind -  even at this late stage, there is still time to sow seeds straight into the warm summer soil.  Therefore, dressed in my regular gardening outfit of pyjamas, dressing gown and slippers, I have now diligently performed this simple task.

However, the joy of today's news is even better than the Seeds of Italy mix coupled with the hope of another courgette plant, today I noticed that to cap the re-sprouting rhubarb, the cresting radishes and the glorious glut of strawberries - I am now the proud owner of my first Mangetout, pictured here complete with little white socks. 

The smell of a vegetable stir-fry is perhaps still lingering slightly in the distance, but with the appearance of this first friable ingredient my stomach now prompts me to think that perhaps I need to start planning a few more nights in, and days working from home.  

So my new worry is - as the vegetable garden becomes more and more prolific - how on earth am I going to ensure that I stay on top of eating all this freshly farmed food?