As we have had a tremendous amount on our plates so far this summer, I have been remiss in posting. I hope that as we move through the height of the garden season, that I can keep up! :) The promise of mid-summer abounds with the garden in full swing and beginning to deliver. The above elderflowers are about to make their way into mead. B has not done a batch in a few years and instead of foraging for the flowers, the ones we planted long ago are starting to produce in spades.
The sugar snap peas (foreground) and the sunchokes (back) are beautiful. The sunchokes, our first year with this perineal, are almost as tall as B right now. The peas, as quite typical for us are so robust we cannot keep up with them. Shaded in between the two at ground level is a patch of endive.
The summer squash are well on their way and we should be harvesting our first full size napa cabbages this weekend. Brussel sprouts, broccoli and storage cabbages are also well on their way. We will have plenty of horseradish and garlic to share, as we watch them take over their various beds.
We have five different kinds of beans this year. Four green beans and a row of soybeans. The large squash to the left is a volunteer coming back on it's own from last year. We also have a volunteer cucumber. Both plants have given us small early yields to whet our appetite as the smaller plants mature.
We have done primarily roma tomatoes for canning and salsa, but have plenty of cherry tomatoes for snacking. Peppers and eggplant are also just beginning to flower.
We have a bed of storage onions which are coming along nicely. We will think them during the summer as we need them and should still have a number to add to the root cellar.
This morning we did our initial harvest of red currants. It looks like we may get another batch in the next week or so. As I write, they are simmering on the stove so that we can extract the juice for jelly. It may not look like it but the garden is smaller this year as we focus on just sustaining ourselves and our storage needs for the off season. It will be fun to see what we can accomplish.
