Like any kid who likes to get dirty, shove their pockets full of pebbles and build amazing creations out of dirt piles, growing up in the country for me meant a fair amount of work that involved getting some dirt on my clothes. Quite often that dirt came from the garden – the MASSIVE garden that was situated right down the hill to the east of our house. Every spring we helped our parents till up the soil, part the rows and plant the seeds. Then we waited. And waited some more until the tiny sprouts finally emerged. That garden was a place we coveted as kids. We’d get lost among the raspberry patch just sitting and picking off the berries one by one. We’d pluck the sweet peas right from the vine and pop them into our mouths. And once the corn got tall enough, there were endless races down the rows.

My garden is a little bit smaller than the garden I played in growing up. Actually, a lot smaller, but perfect for my backyard nestled in the city. When we bought our home more than six years ago, we were excited to have built-in garden boxes already constructed and ready to go. I worked the soil that first summer and warranted a few tomatoes and zucchini. Then that fall, we got a puppy. Needless to say, our planting times came to a halt for a few years, especially after he chewed out the drip system!

Once puppy got big enough to understand right from wrong, I returned to my garden boxes and filled them with veggies that overflowed the tiny boxes that started to show their wear. So this spring, before having a new drip system installed, the hubby and I embarked on a woodworking project to construct beautiful new garden boxes – but this time, raised up for a professional finish.

Thanks to the helpful sales guy at Home Depot in Firestone, we loaded up on pressure treated lumber that was already treated, stained and ready to go! KJ got to pull out the power tools and zipped through the boards, cutting them to perfect length.

Assembling the first box proved to be a challenge. How do you make a 4-by-8 foot box that is 16-inches tall and then try to move it into place? You don’t – at least not with only KJ and I! Note to self: Build boxes in place. As the sun set around us, we finished assembly. Installation would have to be another day.

A week later with some sunshine overhead, we dug the holes for the corner posts and nestled the boxes into their new home. The wood matches our fence perfectly, and the boxes are ready for me to fill with vegetables this season. But first, I need some dirt!

Combine my green thumb and my garden soil and you’ve got yourself a recipe for success in farming zucchini.

The summer after we first bought our house, I planted zucchini and we ate like royalty on this garden staple all summer – grilled zucchini, zucchini casseroles and, of course, my famous zucchini bread. Then came a cute little puppy into our lives, which eliminated the garden for a few years. Now that our little puppy (strike that – HUGE 100-pound chocolate lab!) is now old enough to not trample the veggies we plant, I embarked in a garden once again this summer. The plants were small when I bought them on Mother’s Day weekend, so I eagerly planted a box full of two cherry tomato plants, two slicing tomato plants and two zucchini plants that weren’t more than 6 inches tall. I gave them all a dose of water and an ounce of love and prayed they’d grow.

All six of those plants exploded! In no time they pushed beyond the fence I had placed around the box, inching upward and outward seeking more room to expand. When the zucchini started growing, it came with a vengeance, not one at a time, but five or six at a time. I couldn’t get to them fast enough before they grew into large monstrosities exploding with juicy goodness.

The first harvest netted 26 cups of grated zucchini for the freezer – and that was after giving away five and cooking one for dinner! Another picking amounted in 24 cups of cubed zucchini that will make wonderful soups and casseroles into the fall and winter months. Neighbors and friends netted zucchini as gifts this summer, as well as tomatoes that burst from our garden.

As the temperature dipped this afternoon and the clouds lingered overhead, I turned the oven on for the first time in four months to bake up a batch of my famous zucchini bread. With a touch of molasses, my grandma’s zucchini bread recipe never fails to please. Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
1 tablespoon molasses
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ cup chopped nuts
Pour into three greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until it “tests” done.