Tonight after work, Roy and I collapsed the container of potatoes to find…..a few small purple Peruvian potatoes. Wasn’t the fabulous crop I’d envisioned as I planted the little seed potatoes into the container and then covered the growth each time it was 2" tall per the instructions, but that’s gardening. It’s a lesson in patience, and in the end with being satisfied what is given at the end. The gardens this year were basically experiments, so next year we can do better---plant items that do well, do plantings in shade/sun in order to better facilitate the growth of crops, and decide what we do and what we don’t think deserves spending big $$ on water to grow. These items will NOT be on the replant list--not efficient use of water, too small a crop, plus the taste was bitter and unpleasant.
For a girl that grew up in Cornville, gardening is new to me—not completely new, but mostly new. Not knowing about gardening, but doing it. It was my Mom that was the gardener. Roses, corn, watermelon, cantaloupes, squash, even peanuts…she had a garden most of the time I was growing up. And it always worked. I never understood why she would work so hard and put in so many hours on such a boring past time. But now I understand…not boring, relaxing; not boring, fulfilling; not boring…well, you understand. I get such satisfaction learning things I need to learn, watching things come to fruition and produce, smelling the aroma of basil when watering the plants, realizing patience is a great virtue and I need to take it to heart, taking items grown by my own two hands and preserving them or making them into organic delicious meals for me and my husband and family and friends…it is inspiring and brings such a smile to my face just standing around wetting their little limbs and roots.
So the harvest tonight consisted of 8 turnips (more in the garden but too small yet so hope they keep growing), 6 tomatoes, a handful of green beans that were missed last night, onions and garlic, and the purple Peruvian potatoes. Maybe it’s the purple thing that’s hanging me up in the garden---purple top turnips and purple Peruvian potatoes were not winners this year.
Although the tomato crop has been less than stellar, I was able to use up a small bunch of them in an impromptu Cream of Tomato Basil Soup. Although there is no formal recipe, I have shared the basics with you below.
This season has yielded lots of herbs that I’ve been drying, sharing, and saving. Tomorrow I’ll harvest more oregano, thyme, basil and pineapple sage to put on the dehydrator, along with lemon balm, rosemary, sorrel, boxwood basil, and thai basil. It will be wonderful using my own herbs all winter, knowing I grew them, they are clean, organic, and not irradiated and are going to be used in fabulous dishes for the delight of my family and friends, showing them how much I care about them. Then on to the greens—spinach, Rouge d’Hivre lettuce, Asian greens, Swiss and rainbow chards. They’ll be used in salads, and processed…frozen or canned…and also enjoyed during the long cold winter months. I love gardening!
Cream of Tomato Basil Soup. I filled a 4 qt saucepan with whole tomatoes (no need to peel or seed), 3 cloves of garlic, and 1/2 c of water. Covered, they broke down and I let them cook until very well done. They were then put through a sieve, removing all he peels and seeds making sure to push all the pulp through the sieve to keep as much as possible for the soup. Added a sprig of fresh basil (be careful, too much can be overwhelming), and let simmer until thickened. Add white pepper and sea salt to taste. Remove the basil, and add 1 c of cream and re-taste, seasoning as needed. Serve hot or refrigerate and reheat when time to enjoy,
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