Finally the garden is in! On Sunday I fenced and planted the final plot for the year. There are plenty of the usual tomatoes, greens, peppers, alliums, and curcurbits. Also growing are tomatillos, fennel, celeriac, huckleberries, and okra. A lot of good cooking and eating lies ahead.

Week 10 was the first for donations to local food pantries. I sorted last year’s remaining garlic and gave half to the North Liberty and half to the Solon pantries. I also donated five full crates of kale and Asian greens. The remaining kale abundance will be used fresh in the kitchen or donated. The freezer is already stocked for the rest of the year. I enjoy having a lot of available kale.

One of the rainstorms tore holes in the covered row so I went through everything and reduced the size by half. I harvested spinach, lettuce, tatsoi, and some of the herbs. Of particular note is thyme, for which I am learning new dishes. Using spinach, garlic and thyme from the garden, I made a family classic called Baked Rice Florentine. It uses eggs and butter, so I made it while my vegan spouse was at her sister’s home. It evoked memories. I also shared some of the fresh lettuce with my sister-in-law.

Three turnips were ready, so I harvested them and made broth with the greens. The broth has a delicate flavor, quite different from broth made with collards and chard. I plan a vegetable roast with the roots, along with potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, onions and celery. This dish will also feature fresh garden thyme.

Food related, but not gardening, I decided to stop dumping leftover coffee down the drain and am putting it in a mason jar in the refrigerator. Some of it will be used next day, as I found it remains flavorful when reheated. Some of it will go into iced coffee with a recipe of 11 ounces coffee, 5 ounces of plant milk, and a teaspoon of granulated sugar. I made this twice and the sugar is enough to take off the edge of bitter. We have a host of sweeteners in the house, so I may try alternatives to sugar, yet it works.

The two new apple trees are bearing fruit this year. Zestar! has more apples than Crimson Crisp, and the key variable is how well the fruit survives invasion by insects. Looks like there will be a pear crop as well.

In review, the garden includes a greens plot, a covered row, 78 tomato cages, an early plot of potatoes, leeks, onions, turnips, and radishes, and the pepper plot, which was planted Sunday with a few odds and ends from the greenhouse. A large mixed-crop plot contains the cucurbits, huckleberry, fennel, green beans, daikon radishes, okra, tomatillos, celery, and celeriac, and the garlic plot rounds out the season’s plantings. In addition, two apple trees and a pear tree will be harvested if all goes well.

This is what growing a garden has come to mean in our household.