Garden 2020
-
Pepper and tomato plants were bitten by a hard overnight frost so I gleaned the garden Wednesday morning. A lot was available, a lot remains. I hadn’t been in one of the plots since the Aug. 10 derecho. When frost comes, kale and broccoli turn dark green and represent some of the best garden eating… Read more
-
The sound of Spanish-speaking roofers found me tending a burn pile of limbs pruned from apple trees. It seems like the neighbors just built their house: it’s too soon for a replacement roof. The quality of craftsmanship isn’t what it used to be, I suppose. Maybe it was damaged during the Aug. 10 derecho. Roofers… Read more
-
Evolution of a kitchen garden includes figuring out what to do with the harvest. After a couple of years growing Guajillo chilies, the results of waiting for the fruit to turn red, then drying them in a way that resembles what’s commercially available from Mexico hasn’t worked out. Instead, I’ve gone green. After the first… Read more
-
I began work at the orchard in August 2013. It feels weird not returning this season. I was asked. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and Iowa’s lack of governmental leadership in containing it, combined with my personal risk factors, I declined the customer-facing position as mapper. Maybe next year. A May frost during bloom took… Read more
-
2020 was the first big experiment in onion growing. Onions are basic to cooking and until this year I relied on others to produce onions for the kitchen. It was time to take a step forward and grow my own. I learned a lot. Planting from seed at home on Feb. 7, Talon and Red… Read more
-
Walking to the garden I searched a row of Roma tomatoes for ripe ones for dinner. There were a few so I picked them. Nearby I had planted basil and picked some as it was beginning to go to flower. I carried the produce in my t-shirt and made my way to the kitchen where… Read more
-
The great tomato give-away begins! Despite best intentions the garden produced an over-abundance of tomatoes. I posted this image on our neighborhood Facebook page with a description of where to find them. Within a couple of hours most of them were picked up by neighbors. The food rescue non-profit in the county seat has been… Read more
-
Behold the first slicing tomato from the garden. We are pretty excited. I cut back the number of tomato plants this year yet it looks like there will be a bountiful crop. I cut back because only so many canned tomatoes are required in a kitchen garden each year. Going into tomato season I have… Read more
-
When potatoes are in season we eat them, otherwise not so much. This year I grew two varieties in four containers. I’ll get more with the fall share for which I bartered at the farm. When they run out we’re done with potatoes for the year. We boil the first new potatoes and make hash… Read more
-
Mother died eleven months ago and the time since then has been life-changing. It is partly because she is gone, partly because of the coronavirus pandemic and our resulting retirement, and partly because of a reckoning with my physical health. A lot has happened and I don’t know where my life is heading. Not only… Read more
You must be logged in to post a comment.