2nd week of July 2007

The heat means that the peas are ending their season and soon ready to be pulled Veggie Basket out and replaced with fall carrots and beets. Beans and zucchini are coming in strong with the early tomatoes soon to follow. The rainbow of colors of summer vegetable harvest is a welcome change from the greens of spring. This also is the season for iced-tea. Today's variety is lemon verbena with anise hyssop and chocolate mint being other family favorites. I toss a few fresh stevia sprigs in the hot water to naturally sweeten the batch.

We had a full day last Thursday that started with chicken butchering. We had to wait out a thunder storm and heavy rain (no complaints for the much needed moisture here!) and then got to work. Two gals wanted to learn the fine art of chicken butchering and I was glad to give them a lesson. They caught on quickly and were a great help in getting 83 birds done in 3 1/2 hours. Chicken butchering Later in the week I was also able to help teach the Amish family we borrowed the de-feathering tub from, some of our chicken butchering tricks. In the evening I had a surprise visit from one of my past garden helpers, Michelle. I came home from running an errand and found her taking pictures of cabbages in my garden. She is now a research assistant in organic vegetable production at the OARDC so we had a good chat about cucumber disesases and the most efficient method for staking tomatoes. I was excited to see how much she loves her job and how knowledgeable she is about her field. Educating and encouraging people in sustainable agriculture is one of our passions and it's fulfulling to see people like Michelle flourish and dream of having a small farm someday. I also hope that some of my impromptu garden tours this summer will inspire others to try growing a small plot of their own. This weekend we also have the opportunity to share a bit of our knowledge and produce as we do gardening demos for the Lehmans Coming Back Home celebration.

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