I'm Claudia, and together with my husband Reggy, we've built a beautiful vegetable garden. It all started in March of last year, when two friends and I decided to start gardening. We started small, with a 16-square-meter plot, just to see what we could grow.
At first, Reggy wasn't particularly interested. But when he saw how well it was going, and how many fresh vegetables I kept bringing home, his interest grew. At one point, he suggested we grow some more Surinamese vegetables, and that was essentially the beginning of a whole new phase in our gardening journey.
My friends have since stopped, but Reggy and I have expanded our garden: from 16 to 32 square meters! This year, we started taking cuttings at home back in February. We now have garden runner beans, tayer leaf, antroewa, sporopo, zucchini, pumpkin, and much more.
We're both incredibly proud of our red garter, a true showstopper! It gives our garden a tropical look, and more importantly, the plants produced a bumper harvest. They just keep producing! This allowed not only us, but also family, friends, and colleagues to enjoy the bounty.
It's noticeable that the red garter sprouts a bit later than the green, even though we planted them at the same time. But once it gets going, it grows like crazy. And in terms of flavor, the red one is fuller, crisper, and a real treat.
Reggy has carefully built a sturdy, beautiful structure for the garter plants to climb beautifully. In April, we planted the cuttings in the greenhouse, and we've been harvesting abundantly for over a month now. We occasionally prune some chlorophyll to maintain airiness, which stimulates growth. An airy, well-enriched soil is important. We also fertilize every three to four weeks with lava meal, bone meal, and liquid organic fertilizer.
Our tips for successful cultivation: for us, it's all about regularity, good soil (with occasional fertilizer), the right nutrients, sufficient moisture—we water every two to three days on average in the summer—but most importantly, enjoyment and patience. Because everything you care for with love and attention will eventually grow naturally.
