4th week of June 2009

Bowl of Cherries Life has been a "bowl of cherries" here this week. First the yellow sweet cherries needed picked by the bucketful and later in week the red sweet cherries were ready. After pitting all of them with a wonderful little gadget from Lehmans, some went into the freezer and others were canned. After picking one day, our daughter didn't want to see another cherry for a while because she had eaten so many. I'm sure when winter rolls around she will be glad to see them again. A day or two after our last picking, the birds descended to eat their fill with what we couldn't reach. This is a fruit rich time of year since we are also getting mulberries, blueberries, the first black raspberries and currants - yum!! Often "dessert" means taking a stroll to graze from the bushes and trees.

Sungold Tomatoes Another exciting harvest this week was picking the first tomatoes. Our daughter and I had a race for the earliest tomato and my June 23 ripe Sungold won by two days. Here are some of the first Sungold cherry tomatoes (notice the classy garlic scape bracelets!). The Stupice tomatoes, an heirloom variety from Czechoslovakia, are starting to blush red and will be prolific. The first Provider green beans came this week also and were quietly tucked into one of my customers veggie baskets. The children were not happy about having to wait another day for their share and everyone is looking forward to eating their fill of fresh tomatoes and beans. A few of the children even planted beans in empty spots in their own gardens so someday they can snack at will.

This week has brought a number of visitors to my garden. Three families stopped by on different days to check out what was growing to get inspiration for their own gardens. One especially liked the interspersed flowers and veggies (they called it a French garden) and went home with groundcherry and calendula starts. Another had fun smelling and tasting herbs and they left with a stevia plant and some basil to grow. The last group was in awe over all the unique varieties I kept pulling out of the ground like purple carrots and golden beets and they went home with lemon calendula seed and some barrel halves to use as cold frames. I love sharing my garden with others and am delighted when I can send things home for others to create their own special gardens.

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