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Sunday, August 25, 2013

August Garden Post

I was reminded that I had been remiss at updating the progress of the garden on my blog. It is rocking. We have had fantastic luck with cucumbers, broccoli, snap peas, sugar snaps, green beans, egg plant, bell peppers, okra, kale, and tomatoes. So if you're in the area give us a call - we'd love to share. Currently we're flush with cucumbers, tomatoes and green beans.

Nineteen tomato plants seemed like a good idea.....initially. Now we're canning tomatoes, pasta sauce, salsa, and pizza sauce - weekly!

The green beans have been especially great. We've harvested gallons and gallons and have started blanching and freezing some for winter. (Please ignore the weeds - I obviously do.)

Cucumber patch - we could have done a little more thinning out to start.


Asparagus. We planted some roots and transplanted some from Dustin's great-aunt Gerry. We may even have edible asparagus next spring!


Pears, pears everywhere! Looking in to pear chutney and other canning options.


These were our favorite finds of the summer. They are Mexican Sour Gherkins from Seed Savers. They taste like cucumbers with a little sour bite to them. We will plant a ton of these next year!
 




 



Seed Savers - Decorah

Mom and I drove up to the Heritage Farm for Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, IA last weekend. It was beautiful and overwhelming. This is a preservation group who collect heirloom varieties of seeds to preserve and continue the growth of 1000s of varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs. Reading through the histories of some of these seeds is both touching and a tribute to the spirit of gardening. While I'm not quite to the stage of saving seeds from my garden, I'm researching and will probably start implementing saving my favorites next year.

Here are some of the highlights from the farm.

 Quintessential Red Barn