This summer I think I’ve eaten more veggies than during any other time in my life. We’ve only got a small garden, but it’s produced a fair amount. Friends and family have done well with their gardens this year. We’ve taken some of their overflow.
Then there is the farmer’s market. We have to support local agriculture, right? For me, the main attraction to the market is the chance to visit with people. The local farmer’s market always has some sort of live musical entertainment, and that’s worth catching. It’s a fun afternoon, and we can’t but help come home with a good assortment of veggies.
With all the veggies coming in, I’m making an effort to use them up before the next load. For example, instead of cooking a few plain sausages, I’m throwing in onions, zucchini, summer squash, and whole bunch of assorted herbs. Pasta sauces are homemade using fresh tomatoes and other veggies. We are eating fresh salads by the bucket full. The pressure cooker is making short work of root vegetables. I didn’t eat this many veggies back when a doctor put me on a vegan diet.
A few years back, I planted a half dozen filbert trees. They all survived and have taken off. There’s enough nuts this year to make it worth harvesting. I just tried a couple and they are delicious. Once they’ve had a chance to dry, they’ll store well. Planting those trees was a good idea. The first year I kept them well watered, but since then they seem to have thrived on neglect.
It’s been a pretty good wild berry year too. Cultivated blueberries don’t have any where near the flavor of wild ones. The blackberries are still producing too. Together they make a heck of a mixed berry cobbler.
As great as it is, the growing season up here in the North Country is short. Next Thursday is the last farmer’s market of the season. Last night it got down to 38 degrees. Frost is coming. The apple season has a while to go yet. I can’t wait to stock up on them. I make a mean apple pie.
Once the cold weather settles in, the local fresh stuff will only be a memory. Sure there will be some canned, pickled and frozen veggies to remember the summer by. Winter squash, potatoes, and apples will still be good months from now -a reminder of our all too brief summers.
-Sixbears
Bondi’s Been in Trump’s Tank For Years
2 hours ago
Wow! 38 degrees on the way, burrr. My second gardens' beets, carrots and green onions are 2-3 inches high and the green beans have blossoms on them. All should be finished by the end of November. yum..
ReplyDeleteBy the end of November, people will be ice fishing on my lake.
ReplyDeleteIt was 102 here at my place yesterday, and tripple digits predicted for a few more days. And of course, NO RAIN!!
ReplyDeleteWe are lucky to have two growing seasons down here (if, like Dizzy said, we get rain). Sometimes the fall season gets cut short by early cold fronts. But most years a late August planting will result in a second crop. Many years we never get a frost until January or February, if at all. But ya never know what the Texas weather will bring. Since we fried all summer, I hope we're rewarded with a pleasant, mild winter...
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