the ground and learned they’re “really easy to grow. You need sun and water and some soil, and you’ll get a lot of zucchini, and they get big quickly.” Many of these ended up on the grill. Along the way, she also discovered zucchini lemon loaf, which became a family favorite because it “was so bright and kind of like a dessert, but you didn’t feel terrible about it because it also has zucchini in it.” Also learned the hard way: how not to grow carrots. “I planted all of my carrots at one go, so I ended up with all of my carrots ready at the same time,” Ames-Hauger said. “I put carrots in just about everything that I could think of to use them up.” Next time, she said, she’ll stagger the carrot plantings. Ames-Hauger also harvested basil that became pesto; tomatoes that became spaghetti sauce; and cucumbers that became pickles. Her mission: leave no vegetable behind. “I basically tried to figure out what I had and then look at recipes that could utilize what I had, so that nothing that I grew went to waste,” she said. “That was my goal, that we could benefit from everything that I grew, even if it was just a small crop of stuff.”
Family time This was not strictly a one-woman show, as Ames-Hauger had help from the family. “They helped me with the setup of the garden, and they helped me with some of the planting of the seeds,” she said. “And sometimes they helped me with watering. They definitely helped me with harvesting.” Of her kids, she said, “it was kind of eye-opening for them to see how things grew, and that you
don’t just go to a grocery store and pick it up.” She also involved her 7-year-old nephew Reece Johnson and niece Ayla, 4, with planting seedlings; after that, they wanted to see the garden every chance they got. “These tiny little plants that they put in the ground are now a couple of feet tall, and they were always blown away by how big things have gotten,” she said, adding that she also sent them their own plants in a garden box, watching their progress over video calls.
While Ayla helps her aunt plant seeds, above, Madison, right, spends time in the kitchen helping her mom make dishes such as zucchini lemon loaf, left, from the garden bounty.
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