two zucchini plants, actually.

we planted a garden for the first time last summer, and it was producing wonderfully until two events came together and conspired to destroy our garden forevermore: an excess of rain, and the birth of our daughter. we might have been able to survive the excess rain, had we had the time, energy, and, well, TIME to continue working the soil. but we succumbed to the all-consuming care of the newborn babe, instead. i think it was a good choice.

this year we decided to try again, and we planted cucumber, eggplant, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and full-size tomatoes. oh, and green and yellow bell peppers. until last night, the only veggie that was producing yet was the zucchini (last night we got some cherry tomatoes for the first time - oh! like a little burst of summer in your mouth!). we’ve probably had about 18-20 beautiful green zucchini and they were oh, so tasty. unfortunately, it was not to last.

the other day we noticed that one of the plants seemed to be dying. we had had a fierce storm come through - i think it made the national news, it was so violent - and it seemed that perhaps the wind had broken the base of the plant. then this morning, i went out to water and prune, and the other zucchini was also dead! so sad. i went over to examine them closely and when i was poking and prodding, it felt so loose! i pulled it gently and the whole plant was separated from the root base - i lifted it off as though the two parts had never been one living organism. the base was rotting and crawling with bugs and larvae… disgusting.

so today we sing our swan song for our zucchini. i think we still have time to start again - not with zucchini, but something else… what should we plant instead?