For the last 100 days we have come together as gardeners and friends to share the joy and the heartache that can come with getting a vegetable garden up and running for a new growing season.  Those early days are a bit of a hard slog in cold weather but having people gardening alongside you knowing exactly what you are going through makes it just that little bit easier to push through. 

And now we are beginning to reap the rewards of our efforts.  Friends have been made and gardens are flourishing, and the harvest is beginning.  I have a harvest basket filled with more zucchini than I expected but I did plant all the plants knowing it could possibly be too many!  I had a red cherry tomato from the plant yesterday and gobbled it up without saying anything to anyone – I wasn’t about to cut it into 4 to share.  The cucumbers are going nuts, and my gherkin processing is becoming a regular thing. 

I can put the support and encouragement from you all as a large contributing factor to the success of my garden.  Someone will have posted something to jog my memory of a task that needed doing, or several of you will show what you have done over a couple of weeks, like a gentle nag that I can’t leave something undone for much longer.    But also, the ideas and inspiration for everything from recipes to support structures and so much more.  It is certainly a wonderful exchange of ideas. 

On behalf of the team at Yates and myself I really want to thank you all for making the decision to be a part of this wonderful community.  It wouldn’t be the same without any of you. 

So, what happens now….

You have until the end of today, Friday 10^th Dec 2021 to put up your last post that counts towards the competition element of the Growing Community.  It can be a nice idea to include a photo of you in your garden so after all these months we can put a face to a name – but not compulsory. 

You can continue to post updates as often or as little as you like across the rest of growing season to let us know how your garden is going.  The comments section will still be open as well so you can all stay in touch.    Without the pressure of being in a challenge you could encourage your friends to post updates of their gardens.  I’ll still be lurking here and posting the occasional update from my garden.  Although there may be a technical hiccup on the change over to the new year.  It was a surprise to us last year, so it took a while to sort it out, but this season we are ready for it so don’t let that put you off.

In the meantime, the team at Yates will review the Vegie Growing Challenge posts and make some really hard decisions.  I’ve said it every time we had a mini challenge, but it won’t be easy because you are all so lovely and have wonderful gardens and if it was up to me everyone would win! 

The announcement of the winners will be made in the usual way – the winners will be emailed, and I’ll post it on my blog post, and it will be on the What’s Going On page some time next week. 

Once again it has been a pleasure to garden alongside you all.  I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year and good luck in the challenge. 

Happy gardening and for one last time – if you want to get in touch leave a comment below.

Sarah the Gardener  : o)