Full harvest

After a couple of days of rain, I am out picking again as it is full harvest for the next couple of weeks.  We are currently eating most things we plant, as only the lettuce, asparagus and peas are really done.  This week we picked:

• 4 ice cream pails of apples (off year)
• 1 ice cream pail of potatoes
• 2 ice cream pails of beans (yellow and green bush)
• corn
• purple carrots and orange carrots
• beets
• cucumbers (slicers and yellow ball)
• spaghetti squash
• strawberries
• raspberries
• black currents and gooseberries (wild on the river bank)
• tomatoes (early girl, sub arctic maxi, lemon boy and roma)
• pepper (green, chili)
• lots of all herbs
• 3 zucchini
• 3 kohlrabi

We freeze or process things that come in bulk (like apples, cucumbers or raspberries), but try to eat everything else ourselves. The girls are still tired of beans, but love eating all the other fruits and veggies. Mike has been making homemade pizza ever week and I have been making lots of crisps and smoothies.

At the same time, my flowers are starting to wrap it up for the summer, especially in the back where the color palette is cool. None the less, there were enough cool colours for Mom to make a large bouquet with a rose from David and Bree's wedding as the centerpiece. My favorite current bloomer is my clematis (see right) , but I love all the flowers in my yard. Currently blooming:

• bell flower (3 types)
• sunflower (3 types)
• 7 types of lilies
• one flower (2 types)
• clematis
• morning glory
• Himalayan orchids
• yarrow
• sage
• gayfether
• roses (tea and hybrid)
• silver mound
• hydrangea
• potentila
• poppy (2 types)
• sedum
• companulla
• daisy

Take a look at some great pictures Mike took of the yard with my notes about them.

Canning and Freezing

This time of year, we eat as much as we can of the garden produce. However, there are lots of things that we still need to preserve. We are just ending peak raspberry season, when we often pick more than 8 cups of raspberries ever couple of days. As a result, we freeze them, make many things with fresh raspberries and can them.  Last night we made raspberry jam and pickles to add to the raspberry sauce we made the week before. I also froze 8 cups of raspberries.

In the midst of all this we have had guests to hang out with. We had Brad last week and Mom this week, which slows down the yard work but gives you good reason to sit in the yard and enjoy it. I find myself picking in the early morning before others are up, or in between visiting.  This also means squeezing in a chance to use up produce. Today was a classic day for that. Leo made cherry pie this morning, Anwyn made whipping cream and Mike made breakfast loaf.  I made a variety of meal items for everyone including seasonal fruit salad, pasta, and a supper of baby potatoes and fresh vegetables.The pasta had a sauce made from our tomatoes, pepper and herbs. The tomatoes just started last week so we are really loving them. Like carrots, they are much better than what you get in the stores.

Mike and I have also been squeezing in some projects. We finished the bench last week (that's Anwyn driving the support posts with a sledge hammer in the picture to the left), and today we re-hung the fence and made a large entrance for big objects. I had Mike leave some boards off to make room for my crazy plan to grow things on the fence that moves. Yes, I know it is crazy.  More to come on that front.

I find the canning and freezing a bit oppressive at times. There is always more to do, and you can't just take 3 days off. Having said that, I love having it to eat throughout the year. I do all the picking, but Mike usually does the canning and it is nice to have the help. Apples, basil, beans and carrots will all need more of his help soon.

Rich harvest

Living in Zone 2, sometimes it feels like you have barely any time to garden.  My entire frost free period is usually slightly longer than 4 months. I start eating fresh food in the second or third week on June with early spinach (frost hardy), and asparagus and strawberries (early perennials).

By the first week in August, though, I have a rich bounty of fruit, vegetables and herbs. So much so that I pick most days, and we eat fresh produce with most meals. Typically the fruit goes in baking and is eaten fresh on cereal or in yogurt. It is mostly breakfast and desert. My veggies are lunch and supper and I love the variety. My girls claim we rely to heavily on beans in the summer, and Mike asked this week how to cook a kohlrabi, so I suspect they get tired of the same fresh veggies all the time. I never do, though. The yard has such a rich harvest of food, fun and companionship. All summer long, it is my favorite room in the house.

Yesterday, Leora jumped on the trampoline (we traded Liz for the swing set until next summer) and Brad and Mike flew their hovercraft and joined her in archery. We sat out for meals and I read in the hammock. I made pie from fresh raspberries and Mike turned 8 cups of basil into pesto. We ate fresh carrots, zucchini and tomatoes, and used fresh herbs in every meal.

Today I was up early dropping Brad at the airport and I got some special time in the yard. I picked 8 ripe tomatoes (sounds like fresh pizza), 3 peppers, 3 cucumbers, 6 cups beans, 1 cup peas and some apples. Then I cut myself some flowers and enjoyed a cup of tea sitting in my recliner in the early sunshine. By lunch time, the yard was drying my laundry and I was doing some weeding.

One of my favorite things is thinking about what I can eat soon. My corn and beets are almost ready and I think I could steel some potatoes to go with them. My raspberries will probably finish soon, but my strawberries and apples are starting to be ready. I also love trying my new things, like yellow globe cucumbers or new types of peppers. I think all the great time outside is like Gus and Greta at the river, but they don't get all the fresh food the same way. They do, however, have a great waterfall, and are adept at finding harvest without cultivation.