_1_<br > THE VEGETABLE<br > GARDEN PLANNEN<br > egetable gardening is for the adventure- roses， and out again across Ihe lawn 20 feet ~r<br > some， imaginative child in each of us. more to the walk. We just let it grow. It was，<br > h s never dull. harmless enough， a great conversation pie~ e.<br > My vegetable garden changes constantly， seem- strange and wonderful to watch. Once， I spied<br > ingly by happenstance. Sometimes l select plant lhe kids fencing with the largest of the h uils.<br > varieties on a whim， and the garden changes We grow cucuzzi every year now， to inslill in<br > direction with Ihe breeze: Each year 1 add to our children respect for the miracle of growth.<br > the staples I m sure we can t be without. I ve The cucuzzi demands attention: it is impossible<br > learned there are more interesting， unusual， to avoid just watching it grow.<br > and rewarding plants Ihan can be grown in a The summer of the tomato medley was tame<br > lifetime. The best advice for the beginning gar- by comparison. Until then， 1 had grown only<br > dener is to follow your instincts， try new vegeta- red tomatoes， never yellow or pink. "[ he sizes.<br > bles， let yourself be challenged， experiment! If shapes， and colors available were an education<br > you like to cook， you are luckier still. The in themselves: small fruits to whoppers， in pear<br > opportunities with new vegetables are limitless， and ball shapes， in shades of yellow， red， anti<br > The Chinese remember the years with the ~ink. It was very interesting to serve them to<br > names of animalsithe year of the monkey， the guests. Even Ihough the yellow tomatoes seem<br >~ year of the dragon， and so forth. I remember my milder--and seem to taste less acld--some peo-<br >.， summers by the vegetables that held my enthu- :~le shy away because of the unfamiliar color. In<br >~ ;. siasm: the summer of the Chinese vegetables， my blindfold test， the yellow tomatoes were<br >:> ~the iomato medley， the potato parade， and the noticeably milde~a big winner.<br > vine teepees， to name just a few. By indulging One truth manifests itself eveJ7 year: No real-<br >" ，my interests， I ve been rewarded with wonderful ter how carefully I plan what to plant， 1 never<br > memories， an education， an expanded palate， have enough tomatoes and always have too many<br > and more vegetables to add to the list of "favor- zucchini. (In Vermont， summer wisdom dictates<br > ills，" vegetables I refuse to go without each that you always lock your car at the shopping<br >? aummer， mall or some generous soul will come along and<br >:: Looking back over the last few years， the fill it with zucchini.) I happen to love zucchini<br > summer of the Chinese vegetables stands out as every which way: in soup and bread， stuffed<br > the most unusual， with bitter melon， fuzzy melon， and saut6ed . . ~ you name it. Zucchini is kind<br > and cucuzzi lucked in among the more conven- to the beginning gardener because it ahnost<br >~ tional Chinese vegetables of snow peas， pak never disappoints， but be aware that it is a vet y<br > choi and Chinese cabbage. The cucuzzi was Jrolific plant.<br > especially beguiling. It made an acceptable soup， Our "Indian" summer fealured peas and beans<br > but it wasn t as delicious as it was simply fasci- grown on tall poles tied together into teepees<br > hating， a last-growing， vining squash with long， the children played in. The floor of each teepee<br > narrow S-shaped fruits that reached four to five was carpeted with black plastic， and cov，ered<br > feet. The vines grew over the fence， into the with mounds of salt hay to fluff" like pillows.<br >lit tJ] t . . tl t ~ J .~<br >