Growing up on a farm in the 50’s
Meant that we always had a garden.
Something was growing all the time.
Seed wheat on a saucer and paper towel
In the kitchen window.
Mother’s roses
And vegetables.
Even when we moved to the city
For a few years.
We had a garden.
Daddy’s job came with a house
And a huge yard.
Mother planted tomato plants
All the way around the edge of it.
By mid summer
There would be 5 gallon buckets of cherry tomatoes
Every day or so.
Last fall’s green tomatoes
And cucumbers.
Endless cucumbers.
Summer’s bounty sampling
Now there are only so many times a week
That you can work cucmbers into the menu
So we made pickles.
Lots of pickles!
Recently I ran across mother’s pickle recipe
In her own handwriting.
A treasure.
I copied it for my friend Laura
And she began the tradition all over again.
But what if you want to make pickles
And have no cucumbers.
Luckily Farmer’s Markets have come into their own.
If you don’t have a Farmer’s Market habit
Develop one.
They are popping up everywhere.
So hopefully you can go once or twice a week.
There you’ll find
Wisdom
In the form of wise gardeners
Who know how to make things thrive.
And baker’s
To tempt you.
Blackberry & Blueberry Pie
And natural products.
Who’ll even make wonderful goat’s milk soap
Unscented for me.
And friends.
Mary at this morning’s market
And last month
These amazing blackberries
Grown by a young couple who have planted
An acre
That’s right I said an acre of blackberry bushes
And 2 acres of blueberries.
Can’t wait for next June.
But most of all
You’ll find people commited to providing
Fresh, local food to their neighbors.
Next week is Dog Days at our Farmer’s Market.
Aptly named for the first Saturday in August.
That means that even your 4-legged friends
Can enjoy the fun.
So… dig into the heart of summer
At the Farmer’s Market.
Enjoy,
Gail
In My Garden 