We are! Black beans! And lots of them! What a great day it is when you stroll out to your garden and discover your black beans are producing at the rate of rabbits! Forget your first batch acted like turtles and moped around at a snail's pace. Forget your disappointment when you learned the hard way to thoroughly dry a bean before you go tossing it into the pot (hint: don't shell them, immediately seal them in an airtight plastic container, shelve them in a dark spot in your pantry and ... continue reading...
How sweet it is!
Sweet bell peppers, to be exact. After a few days of rain my green peppers have burgeoned! They're so big, they actually look like I purchased them from the supermarket. Well, the organic section, anyway. Nice, firm, medium sized. They definitely haven't been pumped with any growth boosters, or super duper color enhancers (if such a thing exists) which makes this bounty all the more exciting. Because they are huge, relatively speaking. Huge and homegrown! Now, the question, what do I do ... continue reading...
An embarrassing discovery
Actually, I prefer the word to call it startling, or surprising. I mean, I am a novice gardener, not some master expert. I do have other obligations on my daily plate of duties. It was easy to miss. Miss what, you wonder? Give me a minute. That actually is a knot of embarrassment lodged firmly in my throat. Okay. I'm good. My pole beans. My beautiful, wonderfully healthy pole beans... Well, turns out they're not pole beans after all. They're limas. Yep. There I was, admiring my ... continue reading...
The ugly side of going green
I live in a semi-rural neighborhood. I have lovely neighbors with lovely lawns. So lovely in fact, with their lush green lawn, perfectly trimmed hedges, and aromatic roses, it can be a pinch of harsh reality when I turn toward my yard, a veritable field of sand and weeds. My spirits dip. A field full. I remind myself it takes time and effort to have a lawn so lovely. Effort, which flows through my every pore, yet is rendered meaningless without the ever evasive "time." Evasive, when you ... continue reading...
Footprints in the garden
I have a visitor. I'm not sure exactly what KIND of visitor, but whatever it is has very large paws and no respect for my tidy rows whatsoever. It literally trampled across my vegetables! I discovered the prints this morning as I made my usual jaunt to check on the garden. Now I've had the inevitable creature visitation to my compost pile, but I didn't know large animals with paws were interested in fresh vegetables, as say, Mr. Rabbit might prefer. On second thought, maybe he was after ... continue reading...