We’re in the second phase of our harvest now. Here’s an update on some of the stuff we were puzzled about a few weeks back.
We really fell short where the broccoli was concerned. We put in three plants. This is the only one that survived. Granted, the backyard kittens did plenty of wrestling with one of the plants, but I don’t yet really understand where we went so wrong. It will give me something to research this winter.
It was so beautiful to be able to go out into the backyard every evening and harvest the tomatoes for our supper right off the vine. They smelled and tasted delicious; much better than anything I’ve bought at the grocery in a long time. I am really going to miss doing this when the cold weather arrives. We put in 12 plants and every last one was very prolific.
I can’t take any credit for the figs. Over 25 years ago, someone planted the bushes and now Mother Earth does all the rest. Also delicious.
I can’t take credit for these at all. These are from my neighbor Marie’s yard. I think that they’re peaches. They are so pretty.
Planting this vegetable garden and watching it grow has been one of the best things that I did this summer. It reminded me of the miraculous little things that go on in nature every single day. Now none of it seems so little to me any more.
The arrival of each fruit or vegetable seemed like an amazing gift. As the person who has done all the food shopping and cooking for this family for over 20 years, and never really enjoyed it, I found that the time I spent in the garden this summer, and the process of bringing the crops to our table, lead me to appreciate the entire ritual in a way that I never have before. If nothing else, it absolutely convinced me that Mother Earth and everything that grows on her is a living organism full of energy and spirit — much more beautiful and mysterious than I’d ever considered before. The moments that I spent out back every morning watering the crops before work were the most spiritually fulfilling of the day.
It’s been a pretty dry summer here in New York City. In the last few days, we were finally visited by a few downpours.
