I am thankful for homegrown vegetables.
We haven't been big vegetable gardeners. There are many reasons for this, but over the years our vegetable gardening has consisted mostly of a random tomato plant here or there. That is until this year. During the intense first couple of months of the pandemic lockdown, I decided that we needed raised beds for a garden. Ward built two plots and we began planting. As I have mentioned before, all of our spring/summer plants and seeds were given to us by friends. From them, we got a meager modest harvest of brussel sprouts, lettuce, cucumbers, crookneck squash, carrots, and bok choy. We enjoyed each serving of what we grew and savored it since we knew there weren't many more to follow. The deer, rabbits, and stink bugs needed their share, you know, and uncooperative weather didn't help the plants either.
In August, I planted a few things for a fall garden just because. The turnips and radishes have done quite well, and one lettuce plant and one pea pod have so far escaped the rabbits. But the most exciting part is that I picked three tomatoes from the revived plants. (Between the deer and the stink bugs, we got only one tomato from five plants during the summer.) I love fresh tomatoes! And if the weather cooperates, we may get more. So for our homegrown vegetables and the tastiness they bring to our table, I am thankful.
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| This morning I finally got around to thinning the carrots and some of them are big enough to eat. The tomatoes weren't quite ripe, but I wanted to pick them before we got rain from Delta and they possibly split. And when that happens, the bugs always get there before we do. Also, I pulled some radishes and turnips. The biggest ones are pictured. The radish is about the size of a baseball and the turnip is about the size of a softball. |
We have not been gardeners really before this year, but we planted and enjoyed a bounty of zucchini and green beans with moderate to small yields form the rest. With Mom's passing we did get started a little late though. If we are still in this house next spring we are going to put it in much earlier.
ReplyDeleteWe got started a little late, also. I think that was part of the problem with the low yield--that with an unseasonably hot and dry July. But next year, we'll be ready to go.
DeleteThat looks like a lovely harvest! Homegrown vegetables are always a pleasure, isn't it? I'm sure you already know this, but, the leaves of those root vegetables are also edible. :)
ReplyDeleteI do cook them sometimes, but I don't like the bitterness of them that much and they take a long time to make sure they are clean and the last time I cooked them, they weren't finished before they went bad. So, this time, I'm only fixing the roots. And I haven't found anyone that wants the greens. I may cook the greens from the next batch. We'll see. If I add a lot more bacon, they might go over better. :)
DeleteI usually make a mallung - basically, finely shredded greens, sauteed with spices and coconut. :)
DeleteCoconut is not a regular ingredient in our food. It usually just used in desserts. However, I looked up mallung and it looks interesting. I may try that with the next batch.
DeleteI looked up mallung and it looks interesting. Coconut is not something that I cook with, so that will be something different.
DeleteFresh veggies taste so much better than what you purchase at the supermarket! I'm very blessed to have a husband who loves gardening. Me, not so much.
ReplyDeleteYou are blessed to have a gardening husband. Gardening takes a lot of work and is so dependent on the weather which you have no control over. It really has to be a labor of love. And the love of a tomato right off the vine.
DeleteThere is nothing like homegrown vegetables. I'm no good with gardening but still get volunteer potatoes and tomatoes coming up here and there. Beets I find easy to grow so I stick with them. I love carrots and those look tender and I want them. Watch out! Lol.
ReplyDeleteI love beets, too, but no one else in family likes them. They say they taste like dirt. However, I think I'll try planting them next spring. Those carrots were very tender because they were young. I left the previous batch in the ground too long and most were woody and bitter.
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