As the Garden Grows

I never got around to writing about my trip to the mountains last weekend to attend an annual fiddler's convention so here are a few thoughts and experiences I would like to share.

Every year for 5 years now we have driven just under 75 miles to a small town in the North Carolina mountains, just along the NC/VA border to attend a fiddler's convention. The drive up is usually harried; trying to get everything packed, get off work on time, see to the animals and get there as quickly as possible so we can set up our tent before dark and enjoy some of the best music you've ever heard before turning in for the night. Just arriving in the small town is and experience in itself. We arrived around 4:00 in the afternoon and the small downtown area was alive with the smiling faces of people shopping at the local hardware store that has been in operation for about 100 years, and visiting the various other small businesses in the town. The attitudes of these people that live there is so refreshing. The owner of the nearby convenient store is the same person you will find behind the counter, again with a smile on her face and kindness in her voice. The people there are in no-hurry mode. I find this refreshing and it draws me in every time.
The fiddler's convention itself is rather small but situated in a region where there are so many talented musicians that you can't throw a rock without hitting one. When we arrived, it was very hot and muggy and thunder echoed around. Before long, a brief shower came and cooled everything off. I actually got cold in shorts and tank top later that night and slept under a quilt in the tent. The mountain air was delicious the next morning and most of the day as we experienced mostly overcast skies.
Saturday evening, we went down to where the musicians were camping and sat with a group of friends that are very accomplished musicians. My husband really enjoyed listening to them play and sing together. The group changed througout the night except for my friend and her husband. Different musicians would just walk up with their instrument in tow (one guy carried his large upright bass over) and join in the group. This was possibly the most enjoyable part of the trip; getting to sit side by side with such talented musicians and singers and listen to their music and sing along with them. We didn't go to bed until 3am and had a blast.
Sunday morning, we woke up to another cool refreshing morning with the breezes blowing around the mountain top we were camped on. We took a short hike to the top of the ridge and the view was beautiful, so peaceful. We decided that next year we would set up our campsite further up the road so that when we emerged from our tent each morning, we would have this spectacular view. So wonderful! As soon as we were 40 miles from home, I could tell our little trip was over. The air was once again hot and stuffy and the humidity made me feel tired and sluggish. I took a nap as soon as I got home.
This may sound cliche, but I really do feel like the mountains are my home. I feel so energized, free and alive. I am conscious of all the medicinal plants and herbs growing wild all around me and I long to grow things in a garden in the mountains. Maybe in another life this was my place. So often I find my self feeling that this place (where I live now) and even this time are not really mine. I long for a simpler place and time where things are slower, friendlier, and freer. I have faith that some day soon, I will find my piece of land and my place once again. And there I will have a garden....

We are havesting tomatoes. Lots of tomatoes. Enough said. Last night, I bit the bullet and made salsa. I just harvested about 10 pounds of tomatoes, mostly romas so I had to do something before my husband came home and couldn't get the door open for the tomatoes piled behind it. Don't get me wrong; I love homemade salsa and can't bring myself to even buy the stuff they have in the store anymore but it is a lot of work. I blanch, peel chop and drain all the tomatoes; roast some bell peppers and chop them; core and dice jalapenos, dice onions and garlic, chop up fresh cilantro and parsley. Whew! after all that I cook it slightly and add salt and other spices. For all that work last night I got 5 pint jars of salsa. We love to eat it right out of the jar with tortilla chips or with beans. I also use it in some recipes like enchiladas, black beans and rice, etc. Although this is not really a food blog, I can't help writing about what I do with my garden's bounty. After all, that is why we do it and I'll be doing much more of it before I'm done ;~)

I will be harvesting more corn today and snapping the rest of the green beans for canning. Hopefully canning a few more jars of tomatoes or making some soup for this winter is on the agenda too.

I pulled up the rest of the onions and am now ready to put in some raised beds in their place. I plan to plant more onions and garlic in those beds.

When I am so busy in the garden like now, my day job seems so fruitless. I long to be there in the mornings before the heat comes on, tending that precious space instead of heading off to work where I spend countless hours that while it earns me a paycheck, it does nothing much for my soul. I long to be totally connected with the soil, the compost, the weather and the bugs. I know that what I am able to do now will grow with time if I am just patient enough. There is a lot of work to do and I am thankful that I am able to do it. Back to the garden everybody!

This has been a wonderful summer for me and this challenge. Our garden has provided us with plenty of food and last night we had a feast...all from our garden except for the biscuits and a little bit of oil, salt and pepper. We had crowder peas that were just shelled the day before, fried(in just a little oil) squash and okra(just picked), Silver Queen corn that was oh so delicious and pulled just as I put the pot of water on to boil. Add to that some cucumbers, sliced tomatoes and buttermilk biscuits! mmmgood. I should also add that I did have a small dollop of mayo on my biscuit with a slice of tomato......heaven on earth! Call me crazy, but I love eating fresh from our garden. There is nothing to compare with it in the food world.

Our tomatoes are doing very well and I have to comment on the heirlooms that I planted this year. The Brandywines did very well and were deliciously sweet while the Cherokee Purple tomatoes have done excellent also and the taste is amazing. They have a very strong tomato flavor, very juicy, and I suspect high acid. They have been very tasty with cucumbers on a sandwich(which I have eaten for lunch for about 2 weeks straight now). This is my first year growing heirlooms and the experience has been a good one. Now to save some seed and see how well I will do with keeping that heirloom tradition alive in my own garden.

The garden is so alive right now. The sunflowers are towering above all with their smiling faces greeting me each morning. There are few things as cheery as sunflowers. I also have calendula, and bachelor buttons flowering in my garden along with the oregano and cilantro that I have let flower. The bees love these and have been happily buzzing in my garden for some time now. I have been harvesting jalapenos and cayenne peppers, sweet bell pepper, and tomatoes. The corn crowder peas and okra are new additions while the green beans and cucumbers are just about giving out. The butterbeans are loaded with lovely pods and I expect to get a bumper crop this year. The butternut squash are doing great so far and I may put some straw or something underneath them to keep them from rotting. I have to find a good place to store these. I may dig a big hold and line it with straw, then cover it from rain as I don't yet have my cellar dug. We also planted some late corn and potatoes and they both look good. My next move is to remove the beans and squash and get ready for some fall planting. I think I will try some late tomatoes with a cutting from an existing plant. I'll let yall know how this turns out. We're finally getting a little rain and the garden is a sanctuary once again.

It is hot, high 90's hot. It is also very humid. The ground is dry as old bones. Yesterday, some workers digging a new gas line at the local high school put a thermometer on the pile of dirt near them and it promptly read 104 degrees. Of course this is not the air temperature but folks, it is sweltering out there. I must give the garden water every evening lest the whole thing get crinkled up by the heat the next day. We have not had a sufficient rain since June 28th and the temperatures since then have been mid to high 90's. The five day forecast shows sprinkles, rain and showers. I hope we get all three ;~).
We are planning a trip to the nearby mountains this weekend for a fiddler's convention. This is always a very good time and I have been looking forward to this for weeks but the garden doesn't want me to go. Just yesterday I noted that I will have to pick green beans, crowder peas, okra; can tomatoes; and try to find time to make some salsa and put that into jars all before I can leave home. I think I need to take a vacation day tomorrow so as I can get this all done!
We will eat a semi-local meal tonight, I plan to make stuffed peppers. Everything I put into them is either grown on our land (peppers, onions, tomatoes, fresh parsley, garlic) or bought from a farm nearby (ground beef). The only ingredient not local is the rice and of course the salt and pepper. You really don't need any side dish with these, they are pretty filling, but my dear husband will probably want some corn, cucumbers, tomatoes and biscuits to round everything out. Sounds good to me. ;~)

Well folks, I have been participating in an "Eat Local" challenge for many years because...well, it's a challenge to see how much of our own food I can grow. I like the challenge of eating as many meals as I can that are within a 100 mile radius. We buy our beef from a farm less than 10 miles from our home that is grass-fed and not given any kind of drugs. I couldn't believe at first how different the meat looked and tasted. Now that is real beef! We also grow a lot of our own food right here on our land so our radius is much less than 100 miles. I also buy a lot of our flour, corn meal, and grits from an old water mill that is about 30 miles from our home but I am not sure where the unmilled wheat and corn come from (I should ask!). So, with our further explanations, I am participating in the eat local challenge all this month with Liz and her pals and here is our meal for this week. Sweet corn on the cob, fried squash, cucumbers and tomatoes with homemade buttermilk biscuits. O.K. so the buttermilk is from the store but I am working on that ;~) Gotta quit my day job first!

Well, I am finally getting a good supply of tomatoes. About a week ago I got one every other day and then, by Saturday, we were getting about 4 or 5 a day. I think it will be increasing to more than that judging by all the greenies. The heirlooms have been WUN-DER-FUL! The Brandywines and Cherokee Purples are so flavorful, almost sweet. They are truly a slice of love. I have been eating tomato and cucumber sandwiches and tomato biscuits like mad. I love to make a gigantic pan of biscuits and then have them on hand all day for tomato biscuits. I'm not the only one in the house that enjoys them either. I also like to take tomato/cucumber sandwiches for lunch. I make homemade loaf bread especially for these which I spread on a bit of mayo. Pure heaven it is!
On another garden front, the corn silks are starting to turn purple and we should have some ears ready to pick before long. Our squash is still hanging in there. We still have about 5 plants producing albeit slow due to the incredibly hot and dry weather we are having here. The cukes don't like this dry weather and even though I have watered them daily, they seem to be trying to kick the bucket on this season. Our peppers, both hot and sweet are doing great and I hope to make up a batch of stuffed peppers this week. The green beans are still putting on, just not in the massive quantities that they started with. This probably has to do with the hot dry weather too. I have some beautiful butternut squash that I really hope the deer leave alone. I have seen their footprints down there below the rows like they were checking things out. I may put my pit bull dog down there to scare them away (ha ha). Yes, I am serious about my butternut squash. I mean to have plenty to store for the winter so watch out deer! I think the reason the butternut is doing so well this year is that the sunflowers are partially shading them and the soil around them is not drying out quite as fast as some in the garden. I also have some beautiful butterbeans and crowder peas that I am just patiently waiting to fill out and the pods to turn a little yellow. The okra should be putting on in a couple of days too. My black cat really has enjoyed the garden this year. I can go out there most any time of the day and find him laying amongst the beans, corn, or tomatoes just stretched out enjoying the peace. Hey, maybe this is why there are not rabbits or squirrels harvesting my precious veggies :~)

Well, canning season has hit. I have put up 36 quarts of green beans and about 20 more of assorted cucumber pickles and squash pickles. I will pick green beans again today! I should get another 7 quarts from that picking. The squash are slowing down a bit. Some of the older plants are getting bacterial wilt. The cucumbers are still going strong. I've been making kosher dills, jalapeno dills, and a few bread & butter. Our family's favorite is dills. I even made 4 quarts of pickled beets, they're so pretty. I plan to can some of the squash I have in the refrigerator tonight, I have frozen some shredded squash for bread and patties later. There are blackberrries in the refrigerator to make a couple of cobblers tonight. I have 6 quarts in the freezer too. I will probably be able to pick about a gallon more of these berries before they give out. There is so much work to do and my kitchen stays in a mess, but I still enjoy it. I get a wonderful sense of accomplishment along with a boost of self sufficiency. A lot of my co-workers think I am crazy...why go to so much trouble when you can buy that stuff at the store? Well, they just don't get it. Most of them, sadly, probably never will. They'll never experience the pride and joy of working the soil, planting the seed, nurturing the tiny seedlings into adulthood, harvesting the bounty and preserving it. I just feel like it is something I have to do, should do. It just comes naturally to me to do this every year. I don't ever question "why do I do this"; it is just part of me.