Through the troubling times in this country, the one bright spot here on the homestead has been the vegetable garden. Whether it's food on your plate or in the ground, the sight of that kind of goodness always warms the heart, strengthens the spirit and reminds us that no matter what, we all must still eat.
June has been filled with showers and summer-type thunderstorms. It has not been unusual to see pouring rain with thunder and lightning at 10 am followed by bright sunshine and blue skies by 10:30, or by bright sunshine with simultaneous rain, but it hasn't deterred (and may even have helped) all the desired growth and abundance out in the garden.
We're up to our ears in snap peas, lettuce and onions, all of which performed beautifully in the cool weather. Surprisingly though, even the tomato plants are happy and have been growing like gangbusters. I started everything from seed this year due to March being filled with COVID concerns, so I feel especially proud of this garden, as I usually rely on at least a few (and sometimes more than just a few) transplants to provide a quick turnaround from planting to eating. But not this year.
And last night we sampled the first of our potato crop. My mom told me once that there is nothing more wonderful than a freshly dug potato, cooked and served with some butter and sour cream, and she is absolutely right. Fresh potatoes have a stronger flavor, are creamier and much lighter on the palate than older potatoes are.
So here's a little photo summary of all the green goodness.
And last night we sampled the first of our potato crop. My mom told me once that there is nothing more wonderful than a freshly dug potato, cooked and served with some butter and sour cream, and she is absolutely right. Fresh potatoes have a stronger flavor, are creamier and much lighter on the palate than older potatoes are.
So here's a little photo summary of all the green goodness.
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| The California Olallieberries are very happy living in Oregon. Plenty of berries on the vines. I'm thinking we could give Linn's in Cambria a run for their money! |
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| We have more snap peas than we know what to do with. |
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| Baby pumpkins, which haven't even blossomed yet. |
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| Some of our tomatoes -- Roma at the rear and 4th of July in foreground. Plus the irrigation system I just finished installing. We'll use it in July and August, mainly. |
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| Some of the onions are going to seed, but we have more than enough so that's OK. I like their cool, spiky alien-ness. |
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| Wildflowers in one of the beds over the septic system. |
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| Spiderwort with blue hydrangeas in background |
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| I planted five rhubarb plants, and two have really taken off (far right). No cutting any the first year, but 2021 is looking hopeful. |
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| My Yuzu tree, brought from California, is doing great! |
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| And no photo-heavy post would be complete without an image of a deer peeing in the yard. |
How encouraging, your garden, so beautiful! And I agree about fresh-dug potatoes. AND no need to water, for now, anyway. Living the dream!
ReplyDeleteYes, for now! I always feel like we really earn our summers here, dealing with so many months of clouds and rain. But autumn is lovely so there's that to look forward to. Hope you are keeping well in SLO, one of my friends says you are having an uptick in cases so stay safe! (Oregon is having the same issue, sadly. People aren't taking it seriously anymore.)
DeleteYes, an uptick here -- well, more than that -- and while bars are closed, beaches are open in the county over the holiday and I wish they were CLOSED.
ReplyDeleteHappily, all the folks I saw on my errands yesterday were wearing masks; much better than the last time I ventured out.
Hope OR gets it under control. Without a national effort, I'm afraid it's just whack-a-mole, and so many needless deaths.
I can't believe they left the beaches open. Because so many people come from the valley in summer, that just guarantees a huge population spike all weekend long. I'm so sorry they're not taking that seriously! Agree 100 percent on the mask compliance. I've also seen a lot more people wearing them. Even if it only helps a little it's still better than nothing. But I think they're going to have to close the bars and gyms nationwide, and maybe dine-in restaurants too.
DeleteOur beaches the only ones open in SoCal besides San Diego Co., and they closed their parking lots! But looking at the Surfline cameras, it hasn't looked terrible.
ReplyDeleteMajority of new cases in our county are (not surprisingly) traced back to bars. One of the more dangerous jobs, I think, being a bartender in a covid19 world.
I can't even imagine! One friend down there who works in a tasting room in Paso said it was packed at her winery this week, and people were not social distancing once they started drinking. Scary.
DeleteEek! I hope she and her coworkers stay safe.
DeleteIt looks like our case rates jumped this weekend and now our county is expected to move to the 'watch' list. I suspect numbers will be worse in two weeks, after July 4 weekend.