little garden scenes

first tomato on the vine. it's a glacier, which is a determinate variety that fruits early and can tolerate cooler temperatures.


i have a thing for garden twine. so rustic and pretty.


tools and daisies.


the mesmerizing curl of a corn leaf.


harvested oregano tips to put into jars of pickled garlic scapes.


wild blackberries spotted around the farm.


harvesting garlic scapes=garlic scape bracelets just for the afternoon.


our gigantic ruby perfection cabbage. i wish i could enter it into the fair. it's crazy big as you can see. more on our weed problem later.


walking back home after visiting the field garden.

hi.
just wanted to share a few things that have been happening in our garden lately. what's new in yours?

around town

although our garden is in full swing with fruit, leaves, roots and flowers, it is nice to know that not too far away there is even more variety for us to enjoy. let’s go on a little tour of a few of our favorite spots around town. all just a few blocks from our home, where we can always find a few more things to nibble on.


on our way to the library we have the pleasure of snacking on sweet figs from a tree that lives at a lawyers office. it is the most beautiful, healthy fig tree that i have ever seen. we visit the tree all year long watching it turn from bare brown sticks to lush green foliage dripping with fruit. last week we had our first taste. three ripe figs were hanging there waiting for us. we have recently planted a "brown turkey" fig at our house and look forward to next year's harvest



last year i helped to start up a farmers market in town. it is just a few blocks away from our house and provides us with an array of local foods. our favorites right now are fresh corn and homemade caneles.

we also have a plum tree just a few blocks away at a nearby office building that provides the most delicious fruit. (i forgot to take photos of the fruit this year). no one seems to want them as they fall on the sidewalk to rot. we help by gleaning. one year when the sun went down (and no one could see us) i climbed up on chris’s shoulders, picked handfuls of plums and dropped the fruit down to the girls to fill up an entire basket. we walked home giggling as we nibbled on our stash.


i had the pleasure in helping to start up a school garden and after school garden club at the local elementary school two years ago. throughout the school year the students help with preparing the soil, planting, seeding, weeding, harvesting, watering, and cooking up the harvest. now that summer is here and school is out, there is quite a bit of food that needs to be eaten. it is just a hop, skip and a jump away for us to grab a few stems of swiss chard leaves, and a handful of “sungold” cherry tomatoes.

and soon the watermelons will be ready!

we are always looking for new finds as we walk and pedal around town.

do you have a favorite spot around your town?

In the garden : Observing

One morning recently I was particularly grumpy. Not sure why. So I stepped out into the garden with my camera and decided to look at things up close. Glass orbs of dew clung to the edges of fennel and grape leaves; nasturtium leaves cupped oceans. I watched a lady bug crawl around and held my breath. The radial pattern in the sturdy echinacea amazed me just as the sun shone through the delicate skin of the poppy petals. Underfoot the mulched ground was soft as I tip-toed about, looking, looking, looking. When I went back upstairs to the studio my outlook on the day had turned.

Recent garden notes:

' A pair of goldfinches visit the bachelor buttons in the mornings now. They're so tiny!

' A thumb-sized mouse darted out from the chocolate mint to the chamomile and back. zip zip.

' White butterflies flutter all across the garden, like white confetti caught in a breeze, weaving with untraceable threads.
' I realized this afternoon, while watching a honey bee perch in a pillow of purple petals, that I could sit here all day, observing the activity in the garden.

What is to be gained from this observing?
Much, I say.

backyard berries

is there anything better than stepping out your back door* and returning with handfuls of fresh berries?  i'm not quite sure there is. 

at our old apartment, we had a huge raspberry patch in the backyard and driveway.  enough to make multiple batches of jam and fill our freezer (with more than a few to spare for a tasty snack for a certain berry-loving dog of ours).  in fact, that raspberry patch is one of the things i miss most about that place.  our new home came with a very small patch of fall raspberries, but luckily our old landladies were kind enough to allow me to thin out their berry patch a bit last spring.  so i've been working to fill ours in.  slowly but surely transplanting about 10 plants last spring and another 10-15 volunteer raspberry canes that popped up in my community garden this spring and hoping, in a few years' time, to have enough for backyard jam.  raspberries transplant very easily and they spread pretty quickly too.  if you look hard enough, you probably have some friends or neighbors willing to thin out theirs come next spring.

until i have a great big raspberry crop, though, i'll be content with a few handfuls here and there to top of some ice cream or morning cereal.  (or, just straight in my mouth, if we're being honest here!)

how do you enjoy your berries?

{*full disclosure: the strawberries are actually in my community garden, so i have to walk a couple of blocks to pick those. close enough, though, i think}

pruning tomatoes

this season we have been very intentional about pruning our tomato plants. we have never gardened in such a small space so pruning is essential. this way our tomato plants are growing up rather than out & taking up more space than needed.

in order to encourage growth upward instead of outward, cut the side branches from the stem up to 3-6 inches from the soil line.

when doing this, make sure not to damage the stem & use a sharp tool to make a clean cut.

another way to prune your plant is by removing the "suckers" located in the joint connecting the side branch from the stem. if the suckers are allowed to grow, this will lead to a more dense, bushier tomato plant.

happy pruning of your happy, healthy tomato plants!

another note: make sure to prune only healthy tomato plants. weak plants will feel the shock of pruning & might not do well to the changes. also, prune gradually, making sure not to remove several branches at a time.

peas!

in vermont, we get a pretty late pea crop. our peas are in top form right now. although i know most of my friends prefer snap peas, we like to plant green arrow, which we've found to be the most reliable english pea variety. have you tried them?

they are deliciously sweet right off the vine and just as wonderful cooked or in a pea puree. the best part about growing english peas is that you will have lots of leftover pods to use in making a simple vegetable stock. in fact, i made a batch last night. you'll find my recipe below. the idea for this stock comes from anna thomas' book, love soup, which i highly recommend.



pea pod stock

as many pea pods as you have available (we keep our pods in a large yogurt container in the freezer until we are ready to use them)

2 leeks (white and light green parts only, slightly chopped)

a bunch of celery

a half of an onion or more if you have it

a handful of rainbow peppercorns

a few twists of sea salt

garlic or garlic scapes

herbs (last night i used a combination of fresh oregano tips and dried thyme)

fill a stock pot with water and add the ingredients. feel free to substitute whatever you have that's been lingering in your fridge for a little too long. bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. simmer for about one hour. let cool and then transfer to a freezer container.

now you have a flavorful vegetable stock to use in your summer and fall soup recipes. enjoy!

minty

if you are struggling to find that green thumb of yours, start with growing mint and watch it take off. mint is one of those plants that is hard to kill and boy does it grow. because of it’s prolific nature many people like to contain mints in pots and planters.

i also grow it around my chicken coop where i don’t mind if it takes over. it keeps the area smelling a bit more pleasant and the hens like to nibble on it. we joke that our eggs taste minty fresh.

there are many varieties of mint. we grow common spearmint, peppermint, pineapple mint, chocolate mint and orange mint.
this week we are...

drying it for tea.


making syrup to flavor sparkling water, lemonade, and cocktails.


making peppermint oil to try out concocting our own toothpaste.

and blending it with fruit for popsicles. (this one is simply watermelon and mint leaves)

what a tempting little plant. it is hard to walk by it without yearning for a sniff.

and it makes the perfect after dinner mint.