Garden: A Sigh of Relief

After a three week battle with farmer's depression, I finally make it back to the garden at Stony Kill this past weekend. How do you spell relief? S-U-R-V-I-V-A-L.

Three weeks ago, the garden was sad, sad, sad. Days upon days of cold, rain, and clouds left the little plants shivering and turning purple in the mud. The various squash plants were OK, but everything else, not so much. I took some of Susanna's advice and tried to cover the roots, feed them, and keep them warm, but Farmer's depression set in nonetheless. All I could think about was that all of that work...gone...

But upon stepping out of the car Saturday, the clouds of sadness were swept away. The sun finally reappeared in the northeast about two weeks ago, and most of the plants had survived, and grown to boot. There were even things to harvest!

Baby alien pods...I mean maxixe. Looks like this Brazilian cucumber-like object ended up being very happy up north. I think we'll have a bountiful harvest of them...as long as the critters don't decide they like them.

The chili hots are very happy in the plot. They're bearing fruit much earlier than last year, so if they keep going all season, we'll be able to make vats and vats of our famous hot pepper jelly!

The nasturtiums are extraordinarily happy this year. We threw a bunch in our Saturday evening salad, and they were off the hook. They're soooo much better than any I've ever had before: not just spicy, but amazingly packed with flower flavor. Almost like eating a peppery rose.

The Squash Forest. Check out the pattypan squash on the left. I think it's the UFO that brought the alien pods...

Mystery squash. There's a possibility it's something from Brazil, or perhaps an acorn squash seed jumped into the wrong package? Oh well, we'll eat it regardless...

A happy zucchini, of the Genovese variety. Lighter than the zukes we normally see. Incredibly creamy...Ahhhhh.... I want to eat all of them raw. Yum.