note to self, must find a way to capture the whole garden in one shot!
The garden is thriving, but it is funny how in-tuned you become to the ebb and flow, and how the variances from year to year can be glaring. We knew we were going to be six to eight weeks late this year with the incredibly long cool wing (yes, that is what I am now calling our late winter/early spring). This week we have begun to harvest our first few geode squash, and despite the sweltering heat, the sugar snap peas are still thriving.
To everything it's season and to every season a purpose. Hmmm. I think each of our little garden delicacies have decided that they will mature by type, and not all in harmony. They want their own moment in the sun. As we watch the baby veggies beginning to take shape, I am realizing that this year instead of everything at once in a nice succession, we may have things one at a time. Then, once they have started and continue (hopefully) to yield for the remainder of the season, we will have multiple varieties at once.
I do not mind savoring each new, fresh, lovely taste one at a time. It gets me in mode for preservation, to put up the bounty to sustain us through the dark days of winter. For farm bags, I think that at least with how we are beginning, we may need to adjust to providing these individual tastes to savor on their own, and expand those flavors as the garden allows.
Regardless of what the season brings, we will enjoy every reward that we receive, and I am sure learn a ton of new ways to preserve them. How is your garden coming in this strange garden year?
our peas look good, but haven't produced a single pea yet. the winter and summer leeks are going like gangbusters. i've harvested some finger-sized zucchini. the kale is doing well and is unbothered by worms this year (maybe because we planted an onion between every kale plant this time around). the red cabbage plants look good, but i can't really see that they're making heads of red cabbage - we may have to eat the leaves like kale. i dug two hills of new potatoes, but in all honesty, they weren't really quite ready.
ReplyDeleteand the strawberries, it's been a great year for strawberries and last week's sunshine seems to have prolonged the season. it's unbelievable. also with red and black currants - it's a good year for fruit. even our mirabella tree has plums on it again this year after having none last year.
i am still puzzled as to what lessons to take away. many of my beans didn't come up at all and i don't know what to make of that. were the seeds just duds (they were brand new) or did i do something wrong? did they sprout and then the cold zapped them? i don't really know and it, as usual, frustrates me, as i don't know what to learn...
some of what are fast becoming my garden staples are actually weeds - stinging nettles, white nettles, lambsquarters. i wouldn't want to be without any of those (and luckily, they are in abundance). that's definitely something i want to learn more about.
oops, didn't really mean to compose a whole blog post as a comment there. :-)
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous of your strawberries, the deer really stunted ours this year, we only got a few. It looks like we will have a great crop of the raspberries/blackberries/boysenberries, though. It is a weird season, we had stuff that just didn't come up too. Out of 6 rows, we had about 10 parsnips come up, yet randomly now a few will pop up here and there. The same with beets and radishes.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is any real rhyme or reason. The lesson to take away...mother nature dictates and some years we may have to fly by the seat of our pants and take advantage of the unexpected boons! :)
We have lambs quarter, but I have not seen nettles here. I know you use the nettles in lots of stuff...what do you do with the lambs quarter?
Have a great weekend!