by Triple Witching

Created on: February 19, 2009   Last Updated: March 01, 2009

I looked at the cucumber sitting on the cutting board. The sun had done a wonderful job perfecting its green colour and to chill it down from the summer warmth before tasting, It rested on the top shelf in the fridge for all of half and hour. The lettuce leaves on which the cucumber was to sit were already picked and washed. The lettuces had already proven their worth over the previous days. However, every day for a week since discovery, I had checked on this little cucumber until it was ready for picking. It deserved the attention. After all, it was my first cucumber.

The garden had experienced a fantastic change over the summer. In the spring time my husband and I cleared the top tier garden of creeping vines, weeds and dead morayas. This top garden had been an eyesore since we moved into the property but was one of those things that just never quite got done. However, as I showed more and more interest in gardening through weeding and the successful growing of parsley and chillies, my husband rewarded me by helping to clear the eyesore with the chainsaw. Of course, picturing the face of a grown man with a motorised toy of his own reminds me that not only am I being rewarded here, he is too.

Once cleared, not only did the garden beds below received a lot more sun, but we realised that it would be the perfect vegetable patch capturing the morning sun and avoiding the more harsh afternoon sun, which can be detrimental to Sydney plantation particularly during the heat waves. The weeds grew rampantly in the few weeks after clearing and the soil maintained a damp feel possibly due to the leaching from the properties situated higher up behind our property. Even more perfect. The time had finally come to plant some seeds.

So I threw some unused chopped up cucumber and seeds into the garden, not expecting much from it and prepared the rest of the garden for carrot and parsley seeds, spring onion, leeks, pak choi, rocket and spinach. At the other end I planted watermelon, marigolds, dill, and rockmelon. My mother-in-law gave me some seedlings of Thai basil, lemongrass, thyme and chives. That should be enough to feast on if it all takes off, I thought.

Sydney has rather tight water restrictions due the drought so I maintained the water on the garden throughout the harsh summer days with water from the washing machine. It's very economical to just pump water out the back door of the laundry onto the garden. Did you realise that a small washing machine which holds just five

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