I donated crates of kale and bags of garlic scapes to the food pantries this week. They get produce from the local grocery store and had a large stack of seedless grapes waiting for customers. Our pantry is small, however, anyone who is eligible, can participate. If fresh fruit and vegetables are leftover at day’s end, a food rescue organization picks them up and transports them to the City of Lone Tree for their pantry.

When I donate, staff always has questions about how my produce is grown, which I enjoy answering. The Monday ritual of donation is a comfort in a world that can be stressful.

This week, I weeded the greens patch and found a cauliflower that had overgrown a bit and was damaged by insects. I salvaged what I could from it and watched the other growing heads more closely. I found one good (in the photo) and one bad head on Saturday. Sunday I picked an almost perfect head of cauliflower, the kind that makes one feel like a gardener. The earwigs that came this year seem to favor cauliflower over broccoli when both are available.

I harvested a five gallon bucket full of basil leaves. These were turned into pesto for the freezer. Yield was two and a half pints. Parmesan cheese is left out when pesto is made to be frozen. This step provides better freezer life.

Leeks are getting ready. I harvested three and with the new potatoes dug Saturday, we made leek and potato soup. There will be a lot of leeks, which we shall use. Onions are also maturing with the roots beginning to turn into bulbs. It has been a couple of years since I raised onions and I’m looking forward to this harvest. There are also turnips in that plot, producing my best turnip harvest ever. I picked about 18 small ones and use them raw in coleslaw and salads, roasting some of the larger ones. They keep well in the refrigerator.

Cucumbers have started. I try to pick them small so I can make refrigerator pickles, in addition to using them in salads. Ideally, the length will be equal to the depth of a mason jar without trimming the ends. I picked enough to make two quart jars of refrigerator pickles.

Garlic leaves are beginning to turn yellow and brown. We have a way to go, but it won’t be long before they are ready to harvest. I had better prepare the garlic rack in the garage, which converts to a long table in the non-garlic-drying season.

By Friday I became aware of the coming heat dome, during which average ambient temperatures would rise by about 10 degrees. I harvested the best heads of broccoli to prevent them from bolting when temperatures get above 90, leaving some to grow a bit longer to see if they mature. Sunday it looked like I might have a crop soon. The first broccoli was some of the best I’ve yet grown. Cauliflower is the same, although that harvest is finished. I didn’t plant as many as I thought. Each variety of vegetable has different needs in high heat. I do the best I can to accommodate every vegetable variety..

The Japanese Beetle invasion began. I left up some of the invasive velvet leaf plants because the beetles favor it. The idea is to go around the garden with a bucket of soapy water each day and knock them off into the water. The tall velvet leaf plants make it easy to see the beetles. I don’t want the velvet leaf to go to seed because there is already enough of this invasive species. The Japanese beetles eventually take off for nearby row crop fields, in fact there was only one left on Sunday. I haven’t checked, but need to see if the nearby fields have corn or soybeans this year. Japanese Beetles favor soybeans, so if there are some nearby, it will take pressure off my garden.

Summer is the best time to be a gardener. There is so much going on in our world, and I haven’t even talked about what people are doing. As summer begins, it looks to be more weird weather with emphasis on heat and humidity. Gardening is how we live when we live well.