On The Table Tonight

Here's what came out of the garden today for dinner. The first real tomato, an Ox Heart. So far this year we've only had a few Sungold cherry tomatoes. Some basil and oregano to go with it. A couple of yellow summer squash, some green beans, and a couple of spiny cucumbers.



And maybe on the menu in a few months will be this beauty, a Fairy Tale Pumpkin. It's about the diameter of a plate right now. I also took a photo of the leaves, which I find particularly beautiful. They have splotches of silvery coloring on the leaves and they actually do seem to reflect light. And when they are in shadow they look almost like moonlight. But maybe I've just been out in the sun too long.

Speaking of sun, there is a rumor afoot that we may be heading into 4-5 days of 90 degree plus weather. Maybe that will help with some of the green tomatoes.

Inspired and Inspiring

I LOVE this story about a kid who spends her summer farming in her own backyard, and makes money selling what she grows.

Michigan Teen Farms Her Backyard

I Got Paid For Loving My Garden

Last week I entered a writing contest, sponsored by AWAI. Just a short essay on the topic
"My Favorite Summer Pastime".

It was quick and easy, 1000 words or fewer, and I figured it would just be good writing practice. Well I won. It felt great to share my enthusiasm for gardening with a wider audience, and I get $100 for about an hours work. Here's my entry.

AWAI Writing Challenge Winning Entry:
My Favorite Summer Pastime …

That's Easy

Gardening is my favorite summer pastime. I long for my summer garden all winter long. I pore over seed catalogs and dream of the scent of herbs and tomatoes riding on the heat waves of summer.

I know there are millions of people who feel the same way. And although I do some amount of gardening all year round, it's summer when everything speeds up and intensifies. And the summer bounty of flowers, fruits and vegetables is astounding.

The miracle of a seed unfolding into a plant never fails to hold me spellbound. And I derive tremendous satisfaction from being able to grow my own food. Of course you can get terrific produce from farmers markets, but there is nothing more local than a tomato from your own plants.

Even more rewarding is sharing my love of gardening with other people. Lots of folks enjoy their hobbies in the company of those with similar interests. But gardeners have a deeper bond to their hobby than most, almost spiritual, since they are dealing with miracles on a daily basis. And that sense of joy and wonder is very contagious among gardeners.

But even better than hanging out with fellow plant enthusiasts is teaching people to grow some of their own food, especially folks for whom access to healthy, affordable food is sometimes a challenge.

My town has a program that partners garden mentors with low income folks who have expressed interest in growing some of their own food, but who don't know how, or don't have access to the tools they need. Many of the people have never grown anything before and many of them are intimidated or unsure that they will be able to succeed.

Being able to produce some of their own food delivers nourishment for the soul as well as the stomach. The confidence they gain at producing even the smallest harvest is particularly heartwarming. They stand taller in their children's eyes too. And they feel like they have more control over their lives and their diets, and the diets of their kids.

And yes, gardening inspires my writing. Time spent in the garden can be contemplative even when it is hard labor. I spend many hours gardening and writing in my head. Or letting my thoughts meander until I arrive at a solution to a problem or and angle for an assignment.

Gardening also inspires me to write about my experiences in the botanical world. Backyard Farm is my gardening blog where I document my adventures, misadventures, and obsessions.

Last year it was all about a pepper called Rocoto. I read about this exotic plant in Sunset magazine and embarked on a quest to add it to my garden. The pepper captured my interest because it claimed to be cold tolerant, and since I garden in the Pacific Northwest I thought it might fare better than other varieties.

The more blank stares I got in response to my inquiries the more determined I became to find this elusive pepper. I finally did locate seeds for the red variety, and plant starts for the yellow version called Manzano. While the plants didn't survive our winter freezes, they did last much longer than the other peppers, and were so prolific that I still have dried peppers from last years harvest. The plant was a beauty too, with a profusion of purple flowers preceding the peppers.

And this year, who knows what the most fascinating plant in the garden will be. Already I can tell that one of my apple trees and a hardy kiwi will bear fruit for the first time. So I will be monitoring them closely.

So yeah, gardening would have to be my favorite summer pastime, in fact one of my favorite activities any time of year. It's a great way for mere mortals to participate in miracles.

AWAI
Above is the link to the site where my essay appeared.

2nd Annual Garden Exchange

It official. It has become a tradition and one of the best days of the gardening year. Eagerly anticipated by attendees. Some folks plan weeks and months in advance what they will bring to share. This year we had a huge variety of vegetable starts and ornamental plants.

I scored French and Spanish Lavender, a large Nandina, lots of flowering ground covers for my new raised bed fence.

There were lots of Day Lillies, Raspberries, Strawberries, and Rhubarb. Also on offer were seeds and gardening books. We sustained ourselves with homemade cookies, plenty of coffee and mimosas. You gotta keep your strength up.

It's a great chance to catch up with gardening friends, meet new ones and chat about the summer gardening season we have been looking forward to all winter.

The Raised Bed Fence Project

These boxes are approximately 2 x 2 foot for the square ones and 2 x 4 foot for the rectangular ones. They are 2 feet high. We built them from 2 x 6 boards, and coated them with a natural product called Lifetime. It comes as a powder that you mix with water. It couldn't be easier to use and leaves the wood with a beautiful patina that brings out greens and pinks in the wood.


So the dirt arrived and the raised beds are in place. Leveling them and trying to place them in a semi-straight line were the most challenging parts of this project. But the payoff has been huge. I am really happy with the way they look. And now comes the fun part, filling them with plants.



Here is what the raised bed living fence looks like stretched out across the front of the yard. Neighbors seems to like it. Lots of folks have stopped by with complimentary things to say. We will eventually add one more four foot bed on the left side of the driveway and another on the right side of the yard.


So far I have planted a relocated Rosemary, a Nandina, and some low ground covers. I plan on adding a bamboo that I will move from the back yard and split into 2 or 3 plants. I don't intend to grow food in these beds, mostly evergreen, fragrant, screening plants. I can't wait to see how it changes as the plants grow over the summer. Come fall I'll probably move some things out and some new plants in. It'll be fun to change the window dressing.