That's Frank and the beanstalks below. Those plants are about 10' tall, and he is standing on an 8' step ladder. Frank is not a tall guy, but we do look up to him from time to time.
(HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!!!!!)
Finally a decent picture of that kabocha squash. This is my favorite winter squash and I try to grow some every year. Rich, smooth and sweet, it whips beautifully thick, and you only need some butter and a touch of nutmeg and cinnamon to make it taste divine.
A ruddy red sunflower...
...and a lovely yellow one, basking in some afternoon rays. I will definitely plant all kinds of sunflowers in a mixed row again next year, they just stole the show. BTW, Roger actually planted most of those sunflowers when he was up here in early June. He did a really good job too, and I like to think he enjoyed himself out there. Wish we could work together like that all the time. Lee joins me in the garden often, and he has picked more tomatoes this year than I have.
It's time to pick Ben's pumpkin, and the procession is entering the garden. In the lead is Frank, followed by our intrepid newbie gardener, mom Stacey, and #2 son Brian. Yeah, my youngest has gorgeous long hair, doesn't he? I like this shot because in spite of the weeds, it gives you a good idea just how large that garden is. It's 55x70' and all of it does get planted too. Too bad the weeds got so out of hand, but that's the way it goes some years.
Wow Ben, what do you think, is that a heavy one or what? There are at least 3 other pumpkins out there yet, so he did a great job. I picked up a kit for starting pumpkins, one for sunflowers, and one for watermelon at Lowes this spring, and let Ben plant them by himself. I put the plants in the ground but he did all the rest. We lost the watermelon seedlings to heavy rains, but as you can see, the sunflowers and pumpkins thrived. He looks so proud doesn't he?
Stacey is holding the gourd thing that was growing next to Ben's pumpkin. We have yet to cut it open and see if it is edible. I spotted a couple more out there since we picked this one. I think it might be a cross between butternut squash and kabocha, which has the same color and ribbing. I dug up a wild 'squash' vine up by the back gate and filled a gap in the vine bed with it, so that is likely where it came from. When sqaushes cross, it affects the seed, so that would make sense.
That is my dying cucumber vines on the trellis in the background, still producing a little something but close to dead. We've had some cold nights, it's about time.
I'm very proud of my junior garden partner, he really got very enthusiastic about the whole thing this year. He loves to tell everyone how he planted all the pole beans and now they go up to the sky. He did plant more than half of them. I think we will be doing this again next year, Ben seems to have a real apptitude for it, he was very careful in everything he did.
The last picking of sweet peppers, don't they look good? We may still get a few more. I saw one very small eggplant had finally started growing yesterday. Hope the frost holds off!
This is two pickings of beans, just about 25 lbs worth. I gave away as many as I could, but still put up a lot. The very big bean on top is from my scarlet runner beans, they are considered an ornamental but the pods are edible and taste fine. The big guys like that have to be 'stringed' and cut in small sections. They are a bit fuzzy when fresh, but that cooks right off.
Here is the last batches of beans and broccoli I put up for the freezer. I got 13 quart bags of string beans and 1 quart and 1 pint of broccoli. Lots of good eating for this winter all the way to next summer.
As I have said before, this level of gardening and food preservation is something I have been doing for many years. I planted my first garden when I was 16, and I'm now 52, and haven't missed too many growing seasons. My summers fly by because of the garden, but I don't really mind. I always feel proud about all the good food and healthy exercise involved. And being outdoors, connected to the rich soil and green growing things, gives me a sense of peace and purpose. I think you appreciate more the food you have had a hand in growing. Much of what I plant has been nurtured from a seed or at least a small plant or cutting, and so I get to see it develop every step of the way. Sometimes I even save seeds from my plants and start new ones the following year, taking the Sacred Cycle of Life and Death and Rebirth that extra step. Along the way, I also get to see a lot of other creatures in their natural habitat, and I've met more of my neighbors as they walk by and say hello or make comments. You just can't be too downhearted when the birds are singing, butterflies and bees are fluttering by or buzzing all around you, and the sun is warm on your bare shoulders. I probably saved myself a fortune in therapy over the years by taking my problems to the garden. I will do that as long as I can stumble out there, and then when that is no longer possible, I can always sit with my eyes closed and remember, and then write about it too.
No comments:
Post a Comment