3rd week of August 2010

Garlic Varieties Cleaning garlic is a big task waiting to be done. So far I am cleaning it as I have orders and keeping the varieties labeled and separated can be a challenge. My children are always fearful of the "Georgian Fire" garlic and my aunt was curious to know if it indeed was hotter than regular garlic. I gave her a small clove expecting her to just take a nibble but instead she popped the whole clove in her mouth, chewed and swallowed. For a moment I thought I might need to rescusitate her as her face turned red and she said her mouth was burning. Fortunately, a drink of water and a minute later she felt fine again. The verdict is that Georgian Fire is definitely hotter than regular garlic and I was tickled that she even took a couple bulbs of Georgian Fire to plant in her Michigan garden.

Eating Watermelon One harvest that the children are especially enjoying are the melons. A few weeks ago they grumbled as I put the first melons into veggie baskets but I said they would soon have abundant juicy snacks. This week we have eaten Crimson Sweet watermelon to our heart's content along with a few muskmelons. The long, lime green Ali Baba watermelons will be the next to harvest. There is just something definitively summery about enjoying a sweet, dripping melon on a hot day. The chickens then enjoy their treat of melon rinds to peck.

Teddy Bear Sunflower I really should be planting more spinach and lettuce along with the fall turnips but other things seem to need greater attention. One day this week I had several bizarre requests for farm things which gave an excuse to put off planting another day. The first was from an Amish farmer who was looking for homemade yogurt for his young adult niece suffering from cancer and having difficulty digesting regular foods. I ended up taking yogurt, chicken broth made with veggies and a bouquet of flowers directly to the family. Next call was from a preschool teacher looking for things to smell and feel for her students. I gathered goodies like lemon verbena, anise hyssop, lambs ear, purple hyacinth beans, teddy bear sunflowers (pictured) and Mexican Sour Gherkins. It would have been fun to watch those preschoolers enjoy those fun garden treasures and my prayer is that my small gesture of help will add a healing touch to the family.