As the Garden Grows

At least that is the headline of our local newspaper. Before June, this has been a year of fluctuating rainfall. January and April saw nearly 4 inches each month, while February and March each barely registered an inch. Then comes May where we only registered .80 inches - the driest month so far this year. I have been watering the garden sparingly, every third day. I was beginning to think I was going to have to water every day if we didn't get some relief. Relief came this week as we saw persistent showers on Friday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The accumulations exceeded an inch in my garden alone and the beans, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, crowder peas and gourds were breathing a loud sigh of r-e-l-i-e-f. I plan to put out some more composted manure this weekend and hopefully a new layer of mulch or straw to help keep in that moisture from the heavens. My corn finally has itty bitty ears growing and my tomatoes have started turning. Yippee! I wasn't expecting to have any ripe ones before July 4th. I will also be busy picking green beans by the 4th. Things are a jumpin' in the garden and I am quickly running out of hands. My grandmother enjoys sitting around and stringing/breaking beans so I plan to let her have her fill of that enjoyment. The blackberries here have burst into action too and I have picked around 6 quarts of those big luscious berries that measure about and inch long and big around as your thumb. I attribute their size to the fact that they are wild berries that sprang up on top of a old grey water drainage system from the house sink drains. The ground is not mushy wet or anything, but the soil is always fluffy and moist there, never hard and dry. We get the best blackberries I have ever seen there each year. I have made 12 1/2 pints of jam and 1 mountain pie so far. I also have some in the refrigerator that will find a purpose by tonight. I started some kosher dill pickles in an old crock last night and I couldn't resist lifting up the cloth this morning - They smelled sooo good, all garlic and dill. I hope they turn out as good as they smell. I also have beets that my mom and I planted over at her house. They are a good size and I think I will pickle them tonight as well. There is so much going on, I could go on and on but I'll save that for another day.... ;~)

I have three cats, all outdoor guys. One is very old and he has retired to relaxing in the shade. The other two are less than a year old and play all day long. When I go to the garden, they follow me and romp through the rows, playing with the weeds I am pulling. Some time back they were chasing one another around and one of them ran right over one of my bell pepper plants, breaking it's stem and knocking it to the ground. After banishing the culprits from the garden, I studied about what to do. I hated to lose that plant because it had small peppers already and I only have 5 plants ( I already lost another to the same fate but didn't notice until the next day and the plant was too far gone to save). So I decided to try and save it. first, I broke off about 4 of the lowest leaves and stems. I then pushed a small bamboo stake in the ground and tied the plant to it to stabilize it. I then mounded up the soil around the plant to bury the spots where I removed the stems and leaves. I made sure it got plenty of water and viola! It has been over a week and the plant is still thriving. This is the first time I have ever tried first aid on my garden plants and had good results. By the way, the cats have been allowed back in the garden for now...

It has been a while since my last post. I have been very busy in the garden; harvesting onions, squash, cucumbers and peppers. The tomatoes are yet to ripen. I predict that by July 10th, I'll have ripe tomatoes. I also have tiny white runner green beans on the vines. They are only about 3/4 of an inch long right now but rain is forecast for this weekend and we have been watering some about 3 times a week so I expect to be very busy picking, stringing & breaking and then canning green beans before too long. I have 2 long rows of these suckers! We love these beans though and since I had a broken arm all last summer and couldn't do any gardening, our supply has dwindled. I think there are only about 6 jars left, so the newbies are coming in just in time. The squash, cucumbers and onions have been so tasty! I tried a new stuffed squash recipe last night and I will definitely make that again. It calls for 1/4 lb of sausage, onions, bread crumbs, squash (of course) and seasonings. It was very good. I also made some squash bread. I plan to make some squash pickles and a batch of kosher dills this weekend. I absolutely love putting up things from my garden to eat in the dead of winter. It gives me such satisfaction to know that the food we are eating comes from good seed, good dirt and our sweat.
I have also been picking blackberries. I have only gotten about a quart so far but that is just a tease for what is to come. The canes are loaded with big juicy looking berries just waiting for their turn in the sun to ripen. mmmmmmmm love summer!

The garden was full of light and a bit misty looking this morning after the nice rain we received last night. It must have been the sheets I had hung out on the line late yesterday and left on the line over night that did the trick (thanks "In My Kitchen Garden" for the tip). Before the rain came, the garden was very dry and I had been watering half every other day, alternating halves daily.
The Brandywine tomatoes are up to my shoulders! (lol, I am all of 5'1") The squash has jumped considerably and should be producing very soon. I have green peppers the size of a baby's fist; jalapenos the size of the first digit of my pinky finger; and cukes a little bigger than that. I am still on the lookout for the first sighting of those little green tomatoes but haven't spotted any yet. The beans and cukes are ready for their trellises and the corn is knee high. I will be interplanting some beans this weekend and will follow with some pumpkins later.(my version of three sisters) There is a lot to be done this weekend...herbs to be harvested, plants to be staked and trellises to be put up, planting and weeding too. When my co-workers ask if I have a big weekend planned, I say yes! I'll be in my garden...right in the middle of it all, savoring every minute close to the earth...because weekends go way too fast around here.

My home is in a place that is like a big clearing in the woods. Trees completely surround two thirds of my property. Last night around 10pm I sat on the back porch steps and relished in the darkness of the night. A beautiful waxing crescent moon was shining brightly, the fireflies were doing their dance in the treetops, I could hear the sound of a distant bullfrog at the shallow creek in the woods. As I sat enjoying all this, I imagined for a moment that it was all for me. I smiled. There is so much of nature's beauty; even in the darkness of night.