I will get to the garden but a post wouldn't be complete without Jonathan. He is trouble for sure! There isn't anything that he can't find a way to get into.
On to the garden. These pictures are a little old but our garden is still growing. I heard something about a good gardener keeps trying and a better gardener keeps trying and also keeps notes. (or something like that) Originally we were going in as partners of sorts with friends from our ward but life happens and since it is in our backyard, it mostly became more my project. This is not any sort of complaint by any means. Their excitement and man-power helped get the project of the garden going. It has been a great experience. I am ready for another garden box. I have learned more of what not to do but here is a list of things from our garden:
Lots of lettuce for salads
Spinach- which wasn't too nice for salads but it cooked up nicely for a spinach, potato casserole
Broccoli that was a little past its prime, i didn't know that it had small yellow flowers - still good freshly steamed,
Purple Broccoli -good because i figured out when to pick it
Cauliflower-good steamed in milk and butter (a friend said this is how her mom cooked it and they loved it. It really just tasted steamed but good)
Carrots - they are very small but good
Strawberries - only a couple have grown but they are alright. I have to fight the birds for them
Tomatoes - I envisioned gobs of tomatoes sitting on the counter and canning them, freezing them, cooking with them but i guess since we only have 3 plants that is not going to happen. I have had a couple and they are pretty good.
Having a garden makes me miss my Grandma. She always had a huge amazing garden. Summers as i remember consisted of getting up at strange hours for irrigating, canning vast quantities of this, that, and everything, and eating great meals in the evening from what we picked that day. I remember doing these things but i never really paid attention to the details. Now when i look at my broccoli and wonder when it is ready to pick (i waited too long) i wish that i had my Grandma's vast knowledge and experience to rely on. I guess as it is with a lot of things, you don't really appreciate them until they are gone.
Behold- the garden.
Have you ever wondered what 28 pounds of green beans looks like after it has been cut, canned, or pickled?
On Saturdays when we don't have things going on (which is close to never) i get fruit and veg from a co-op called Bountiful Baskets. They often have offerings of large quantities of certain in season items and i sometimes get the canning bug and buy them. This time it was 28 pounds of beans. It took me a couple of days and i thought my had was going to fall off from cutting but i did it. I processed all of the beans. We now have enough beans to last us a good long time. Plus, i have discovered that i LOVE pickled green beans often referred to as Dilly Beans. Yum!
