August Garden

The summer is speeding past and life has been busy here in Southern Indiana.  We’ve had lots of company this summer.  I think everyone was ready to get away, out of the house, just go somewhere.  Always enjoyable to reconnect with old friends and family.  Of course, the grandkids have kept us busy, too.  We didn’t get to do nearly as many activities as we had wished but we did have some fun.

The past few weeks we’ve been busy with the garden.  Plenty of rain earlier in the season so the produce is coming in.  The corn is past.  Peaches and cream variety, first planting late April.  Second planting a few weeks later after the late freeze.  This is a delicious variety, full ears with no bugs or flaws.  We ate what we could fresh, then put up the rest.  After picking and husking, we ended up with four five-gallon buckets of shucked corn.  I do the picking and husking; my husband does the rest of the processing. Plenty of corn in the freezer.

The green beans (variety Jade Bush) have been very prolific.  I keep up with the picking and the beans keep coming.  Of course, I planted some more which I don’t know why. 

We planted several varieties of tomatoes this year just to remind ourselves why we like some better than others.  With the freeze that we had in early May, they’re just now coming in.  The Goliath, Celebrity, Beefsteak, and German Pink are great eating tomatoes.  Lovely on a sandwich or just with supper.  For putting up in the freezer, we have San Marzanos and Romas, and the Park Whoppers are very prolific.  We use a lot of tomatoes so these will keep us busy for the next several weeks.  The cherry tomatoes are Sweet 100 and a cute little yellow pear, both of which are very prolific.  The kids just graze on them as they pass by.

I’ve got some herbs in the food dehydrator out in the shop.  Best to remove the machine from the house so the whole place doesn’t smell like basil.  Will probably do another batch or two this season.  I’ll miss fresh herbs when they’re gone.

So, you might ask, why go to all this work just for some vegetables? It certainly doesn’t save any money when you consider all the time, labor and expense that goes into planting, picking and processing.  I guess the real reason is that we like fresh.  We know what’s in the plants and what isn’t.  We use no pesticides.  Not everything turns out perfect and beautiful.  We’re willing to live with losses.  The zucchini and squashes have been beset by squash vine borers the past few years.  I may give them a pass next year.  And as the joke around here goes, you lock your car doors in Indiana in the summer as you’re likely to find someone has filled it with zucchini. 

Lots more stuff going on around here.  The flowers are beautiful – several varieties of sunflowers, cosmos, and zinnias not counting the potted plants.  I sold a lot of artwork with my Super Summer Sale last month, both online and locally.  Still need to make more room in the studio.  Still paint nearly every day.  Lots of visits to the library and arts center. And spending some evening time on the patio with a cool drink and a book. 

So how has your summer been going?  I love reading your posts and comments.  Keep cool!