First Harvest

Yesterday I picked yellow and green beans from my little plot... my first harvest! How thrilling it was to pick something that I had planted from seed!

My little garden has been an experiment of sorts this year. Everything has done well with the exception of the beets, carrots and squash. Both root vegetables have long , spindly growth. The leaves are healthy and green but its fruit is almost useless, although I will make a salad from what is there.

Green beans, yellow beans, leeks, onions and peas are enough to supply a few meals and I look forward to letting my grandson pick the next batch of fresh beans. It is always nice to do things that become memories of time spent with Nana, and I look forward to the day that my granddaughter feels more comfortable leaving her mommy and daddy for a visit here so that she can share these memories.

Next year I will fill my gardens with a crop each (with the exception of carrots and beets!) I know what does well now. I shall soon start visiting the local farmers and farmer's markets and begin preserving for winter. I am systematically using from the freezer to make room.

My children are great fans of the peaches that I preserve. I use very little sugar and they know that the product produced is clean, preservative free and fresh. I would rather jar than freeze but a few vegetables I prefer frozen. I am looking forward to using my pressure canner but am going to enlist my hubby's help and support for the first few attempts.

My grandmother used a pressure cooker. Her son does too, but frankly, they scare the daylights out of me. I will never forget the imprint of a lid on Nana's ceiling. How that happened, I can only guess, but I have acquired a healthy respect for these tools now.

I must apologize for the short post yesterday. I spent several hours outside yesterday and the sun was a little warm. The remainder of the afternoon was spent nursing a headache.

Today I am grateful for my little garden plot that provides and pleases.

Cicero:

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.