Our weather has cooled down considerably, from the high 70's - low 80's. We're down into the low 60's again. It is a welcome relief. But, currently it is raining, so I've contented myself with reminiscing. I've pulled out some of my old photo albums. I'm amazed when I see just how much food I've grown over the years. Now that I'm retired, and the kids are gone, I've contented myself with a much smaller garden - just a kitchen garden, a perennial bed and a few dahlias.
Years ago, when we first moved to Tacoma, I rented 4 large garden plots from the city of Tacoma, as part of their community garden program. The site was just 3 blocks from our house, so it was almost like working in my backyard. I'd work in the garden from 7:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., then go to work. My job was from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. After work, I often went to my garden to pick produce with George.
Every autumn, I'd glean the growing beds, and collect the very last of everything - tomatoes, corn, squash, beans, onions, potatoes, mums. Whatever was left.
I also collected seeds - dill, fennel and buckwheat, the dry beans, and cilantro.
The old Ukranian women who had plots next to me showed me how to pick the best seeds from the best flowers....I thought all seeds would be the same, but flowers on the same plant have variations in seed outcomes, so the choice has to be careful if desiring a pure strain, something that resembles the parent plant. Zinnias are fussy this way.I did all my own canning - jellies, jams, and syrups, applesauce, pickled beets, pickle relish, salsa, and tomato sauce for spaghetti. I put up about 50 quarts of spaghetti sauce one year. The photo here is blackberry jam - we had our favorite picking spots, and peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches were a favorite.
I've since put up strawberry, apricot, peach, plum, crabapple, and mixtures like pink grapefruit-orange marmalades. I also grew herbs - oregano, basil, celery leaves, parsley, lemonbalm, thyme, mint, garlic and onion. I'd pick these in the morning and dry them on sheets in the back yard, then grind them. They were incredibly fragrant.
We had a long table, and we'd place all the last old squash, potatoes, zinnias and dahlias on it. I always had a very good feeling seeing that harvest.
These photos show some of the produce that we've had.
What I'm not showing is the inside of the refrigerator, after George would pick the beets - he'd be in a hurry, and would put them inside, with the dirt still on them, inside a plastic bag. That is something I'll never forget!When a sudden heatwave comes like we've had lately, some of the early spring veggies will 'bolt', forming seedheads before they've put out much growth. That can happen to spinach, broccoli, radishes and collards. Once initiated, flower production usually can't be stopped and can result in a ruined crop. Not all vegetables will spoil if they produce flowers, of course, and for some, such as podded vegetables, it's an essential process if you're to get any yield.
Years ago I learned to make raised beds for greens - green onions, lettuce, celantro and parsley, cabbage and collards, cabbage and carrots. It was always one of the first crops that I seeded, and the first harvested.
This is one of my raised beds, from a few years ago. I always enjoyed growing big cabbages.
Oh, and every couple of days there'd be a few more things in the garden....laundry.
Nothin' more wonderful in summertime, than sheets dried on the clothesline. Here, you can see that I was taking care of a little grand-daughter.....my, those were some wonderful days, hard-workin' days.
