This Morning’s Harvest

Guess what’s for dinner tonight? Grilled Eggplant, fresh okra and a salad with cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and goat cheese! Our harvest this morning is dinner tonight!

Many people think that you can’t grow anything in the heat of a Florida summer, but we’re still enjoying the bounty of our garden.

We harvested the first of our garlic last week and a few pears are starting to ripen. Our first cantaloupe was almost ready, but a squirrel or raccoon beat us to it. {There is currently a warrant out for this creature, dead or alive.}

It’s time to pull the plants that are finished producing- for us, that includes tomatoes and brussel sprouts. I’m going to solarize this patch of garden- cover the ground with plastic & let the sun “cook out” any nematodes and fungi enjoying my garden. {Any experience doing that?} Everything deserves a rest- I’m thinking of God telling the Israelites to give their land a Sabbath Rest in Leviticus 25.

I’m happy to give my little garden a rest and am looking forward to mixing in a handfull or two of compost when it’s time to put in my fall garden!

Keeping Garden-Fresh Herbs Fresh

My herb garden is my favorite… but with the heat of summer setting in, I know my precious herbs’ days are numbered! Many have already bolted, others I’m constantly clipping to keep them from going to seed.

I love to watch the butterflies visit when they flower, but I’m into gardening to eat fresh and save money, sorry butterflies. Maybe we can compromise… I’m trying something new (thanks to a friend on facebook!) to hopefully accomplish both!

Resa said to clip my basil & store it in a vase to have fresh basil available at my fingertips. She listed a second benefit- the basil will start to root and I can plant another plant!

I’m trying it out. (See my picture? Chris brought me some sweet mini-roses!) I’m wondering… will it work for parsley as well?

meet me in the garden

Alex said he hadn’t seen me in a while.

I’m on a first-name basis with all the Publix employees- Alex is the solemn Russian in the produce department. I had to confess to him: I don’t need to come as often because I’m getting my produce somewhere else… My own backyard!

Chris & I have attempted gardening for all 13 years of our marriage. Some years we have bell peppers, others the tomatoes flow in all summer long… but this is the first year my garden has been bountiful enough to save trips to Publix!

I haven’t bought eggplant or collard greens in months, cucumbers are plentiful, the bell peppers and tomatoes are keeping us supplied, and okra is starting to roll in. The green beans and squash were tasty but I didn’t plant enough. Oops.

And my herbs… oh, the herb garden is my favorite!! It’s a little messy but fruitful beyond imagination… kind of how I view our family! {smile}

There is more, but I won’t bore you. Some are ready before I know it (radishes!) and others take their time (onions & garlic). The lemon flaunts it’s fruit but strawberries are nestled among large, deep green leaves like jewels in velvet.

My blueberries were trampled by well-meaning children… I need to find them a safer place for next year. The sticks are only a couple of inches above the ground, but I think they’ll come back. That’s the thing about a garden. With a lot of love and even more work, it’ll yield abundantly. Hmm… sounds a lot like the rest of life…

of Sunflower Houses and housekeeping

> The weather is beautiful and I’d rather be pittering in the yard than keeping house inside. So I’ve decided to accomplish both by planting a Sunflower House!

We have a corner of the yard that has no grass growing and I think instead of sodding it this weekend, we just may create a perfect playspace for the kiddos. We’ll sow sunflower seeds for the four walls, leave a doorway open and allow morning glories to climb to fill in the magical little hut. (See my amazing sunflowers I made in Paint?)

Here’s a helpful link if you want to try one, too.

I don’t have hubby approval yet (he was going to lay sod this Saturday) so we’ll have to wait to see for sure but I think it could be a fun spring project! Any other sunflower house builders out there?