I am so incredibly sorry that I have not posted the last few months, but my dear husband of 32 years passed away suddenly and I have not only been unable to imagine life without him, I have not even begun to imagine growing the gardens that he so loved to work and sell fruits and vegetables from. I know that my love for the garden will always be with me and with time I will continue on with my growing, but for now I will just try to reorganize my life and wait for spring to bring out that green thumb. I have been thinking about going in a different route, possibly smaller scale or greenhouse gardening. I have also considered just growing plants and not so many vegetables. --Nah, that's not such a good idea. I have always believed that if you grow it you should be able to eat it. And with the economy and the future of our country and the planet all in question I think that we all need to think about self-sustainability. Thank you for your understanding - and good gardening to us all!!!
I LOVE SUNFLOWERS!!!!
The summer garden would not be complete without the giant sunflowers growing over the garden fence! The birds and the bees love lighting on them and eating from the large dinner plate offerings.
To be honest I was not ever this interested in sunflowers. I thought it didn't belong in a garden if it did not produce food or ward off the bad bugs. But my dear husband insisted on sunflowers so I threw seeds along the fencerow (162 feet of it) and the flowers that have opened their faces to the sun are the most glorious shades of yellow, orange, burgandy and brown. (I had many different varieties that I just alternated along the fence.) Now I am so glad that I did.
So are the birds and the bees!
I Love The Rain - Just NOT SO MUCH!
Another short time has flown by and the garden is still wet - sounds like my past posts, huh? It seems like I'm repeating myself over and over again!
Well, the squash has just about drowned. The first planting of cucumbers has been pulled up - too wet, caused fungus - but the tomatoes and the green beans are having a heyday with the weather. They are just not producing too terribly much since there hasn't been any real heat or sunshine to speak of. this week seems to be a little better, however, so my next post may not be quite as dismal.
I am still loving those Japanese tomato rings! The cherry toms - all three varieties that I planted on them - are thriving and are still so lush and producing so many tomatoes! I have never raised so many cherry toms at once. I have started more Roma tomatoes to see if they like them as much as the baby toms do. I still have people stopping to ask what they are, but I may do all of my tomatoes on them this fall and next year!
Sales are off and on for the veggies. With no advertising we are still doing pretty good. Now that everything is getting into full production we may start some advertising on the turn-off road to get here. We are still planning a high tunnel for the front garden to see how long this winter we can keep these tomato rings going. It has also been so wet that the onions are not growing much, but the ones we have pulled and eaten have been absolutely divine. Juicy and sweet with no heat at all! We are keeping the rest of them - a little selfish, I know - but there aren't near enough for my use AND to sell. You just have to draw the line somewhere!
Sales and Orders Are Steady!!
Squash, cabbage, onions, broccoli, cauliflower - now green beans and cucumbers - are all starting to mature and produce! We even have been selling some green tomatoes, it's a Southern thing to fry them. Saturday we sold out after three hours - even the stir fry ingredients I just picked for supper! And the demand is greater than the amount of ripening produce that we pick in the mornings. Since we are not on a main thoroughfare of the city it will only get better with advertising (we have done none yet).
I can't wait for Wednesday to open back up! We have met some of our neighbors that had just waved before, and have made new customers of friends of friends. Have I mentioned how well we are eating now with all the fresh vegetables on our table?
This picture is the stand we put up, but before we opened with vegetables and plants. It's full now and the small garden is right behind it for a great backdrop.
I just can't imagine anything else so worthwhile and so fulfilling as providing good, wholesome nourishment to the public. And with the future of our food supply so much in question I hope to someday be able to teach others how to do the same.
This is one profession that is good for the mind, the soul - and the body!
