the details on the leaves of plants such as cabbage completely fascinate me!
you know i love this stuff, right?!
sorry if it’s redundant…
sorry, not sorry.
just a little update on the garden… my posts are not in “real time,” as it were… i’m several weeks behind in keeping up with what’s going on, currently.
for example, most of what you see in the following fotos, has been pulled from my plot. we are straight up in the heat of summer here in NC, and my tomatoes are just about all that remain. i pulled up all my broccoli, because i didn’t get it in the ground soon enough and it never formed a head. i harvested one beautiful cabbage that i’m currently making sauerkraut with. my cilantro is done… as is my dill and basil, but i planted more of both. i pulled my kale and planted arugula in its place. and my cucumbers are on their last limb, but i must’ve harvested around 200 of them this season. i have pickles for days! 😉
july will be focused on tomatoes. then in mid august, i will plant more cabbage and cucumbers and perhaps try again for more peas later in the month or toward september. i really enjoy making {and eating} sauerkraut, so i intend to plant a lot more cabbage for fall.
meanwhile, here are some pics of what late may/june were like in my plot :
so pretty and ALIVE!
still fascinated by pea tendrils… and i made lots of pesto with my basil!
oh kale, yeah!
harvest!
my beautiful cabbage! Continue reading
things are moving along quickly in the garden!! i actually harvested lots of kale this week and my dill is turning into a forrest! cilantro will only be here for a little while longer, and my peas are producing but will also begin to dwindle as the heat increases. i should be able to harvest some cucumbers next week. which means next month, i’ll be making some delicious pickles!! so so so excited about that!
on a community level, we have been donating over 15 pounds of collard greens each week and lots of radishes are going to donation, as well. our beans are starting to blossom, and the blueberries are coming in nicely. we also have tons of healthy tomato plants growing. june and july are the exciting months for gardening, as everything really starts to produce… i just love it.
and since i have fallen behind a little bit on updating on the garden, i am putting these fotos in gallery form, so i can squeeze them all into this post 🙂
{click on any photo to enlarge and scroll through gallery}
a {sort of} pano of my plot…
from left to right, counter-clockwise-ish :
jalapeños {hidden, back row} basil {back row}, peas {along left trellis}, lacinato kale, tomatoes {middle}, cilantro, celery, more tomatoes {middle}, cabbage, more kale {middle}, romanesco, more tomatoes, {middle}, cucumbers {along right trellis}, and dill.
i kind of planted in a zig-zag pattern…
i also squeezed in a few spinach plants throughout, but i’m not sure how they’ll fare.
thanks for following along!
how is your garden looking??! 🙂
i have been slightly slacking with updates on the garden. i have so many fotos to share, that i’m lumping {2} volumes together 🙂
a couple weeks ago, we had some eagle scouts come help in the garden. it was fun to see the boys get so excited about digging and planting.
as we prepped some of the community beds, we found some sweet potatoes! the boys were super excited about this part of the day! they collected probably 3 dozen or so, and i overheard one of them saying, “we are going to donate these!” – so charming. 🙂
i personally got so excited about this little frog i found under one of the tarps… i moved him away from the garden and let him go on his way…
planting beans!
planted okra in these plots…
radishes are so rewarding because they grow so fast!
we also planted some green onions and swiss chard…
i love it when someone brings coffee!
our garden leader shared some honey from last years harvest!! nom nom Continue reading
things are moving along nicely at the community garden…
it’s so rewarding to interact with other people who are just as passionate as i am about gardening. having us all come together and work as a team to prep the beds and tend to the crops is just such a marvelous reality. it’s something i really wish that every single person on the planet could and would experience.
last week, we had some eagle scouts come and help work in the garden. it was quite fun seeing their excitement as they helped move tarps and logs and plant seeds. we uncovered some potatoes from last season and the boys were very eager to collect them all and “donate them” – which was so endearing.
i am forever grateful to be a part of this community garden and it pleases my soul so tremendously to engage in it all. my cucumbers, along with other plants, are sprouting and the peas are growing quite nicely… i can’t wait to share those fotos next week!
in the meantime, here are some fotos of recent days at the garden… i hope you enjoy.
things are growing!! radishes and lettuce…
kale and peppers…
tools!
laying mulch around the blueberry bushes…
looks so good!
transplanting raspberries…
i can’t wait to get my paws on some of those!!
fig trees! oh my, i’m excited about these, too!!!
happy bees!
side note : would you believe i got stung AGAIN!? this time – right on my nose! – i was shocked. the garden leader thinks it may have been my sunscreen, so i switched to an unscented version. let’s hope that helps! if you follow me on instagram, you saw the story. annoyingly hilarious. Continue reading
some updates on my community garden…
my uncle helped me make repurpose some materials and make these trellises for my peas and cucumbers. last year, thanks to a good friend, i learned a lot about vertical gardening… particularly, how it helps in maximizing space. since my plot is only 4 x 8, i was adamant about making sure to get the most food i could growing in there.
in particular, peas and cucumbers. they were the most fun to grow last year, and i had quite the bounty. not to mention the taste – so fresh and delicious!
i do love my garden!
another shot of my plot and trellises…
do you love gardening as much as i do?!
i recently discovered that gardening is one of my most favourite things ever!
last summer, i participated in a community garden when i still lived in denver. unfortunately, i wasn’t able to blog about it due to crazy scheduling conflicts and lack of good computer/internet access. thankfully, that has all changed as of late.
this year, i am fortunate to again have found a community garden to participate in… and it’s right up the street from my house! my plot this year is only half the size of the one i had last year, but i am still super thankful and i can still grow a ton of food in this 4 x 8 plot. last year, i didn’t exactly know what i was doing, and i kind of over-planted. a lot of my neighbours jokingly called my plot the “cucumber farm” because i literally had to give away about half my harvest due to having such an abundance! {which was obviously a good thing, overall!}
this year, i am planting similar items, just not as much of it. i am eager to share the pictures and the experience as i go along, so i will be posting about it on saturdays.
and without further ado, here are some fotos from the journey thus far. i hope you enjoy… and please do leave comments if you wish, as i love to discuss gardening just about as much as i enjoy discussing and sharing fotography.
here’s what i’m planting this year…
last year, i made lots of pickles and tomato sauce with my harvest. this year, i’m planting romanesco, which i’ve never grown but as you may know, i’m in love with!
our community has an herb garden, and the mint is already coming up, and {of course} taking over!
there is also a blueberry patch, which i’m so excited about!
lots of little critters make this garden their home, as well…
we also keep bees, which makes me sooooo happy!
getting the garden ready for the season…
laying fresh compost, clay, and manure…
pulling weeds and admiring the kale…
that’s my plot! Continue reading
something i need to write about is how i spent my summer vacation… even though it’s long passed now.
one of the things that took up the majority of my free time this summer was participating in a community garden. it was basically one of the best things i’ve ever done for myself. growing your own food is truly one of the most rewarding things one can do! i would constantly remark, “all i did was put a seed in the ground – and this happened!” because i was constantly blown away at how cool nature is! my cucumber plants literally took over and my neighbours were calling it “the cucumber farm” 😉
the reason i bring this up is because i inherited a small strawberry plant in my summer garden plot. many of my neighbours had strawberry plants and i was fortunate to have one reseed itself in my plot. i didn’t get a lot of strawberries from it, but the few i did harvest looked like these strawberries. they were more cone-shaped than heart-shaped. and i’m telling you – the flavour in these things is just out of this world! SO sweet and SO juicy and SO delicious! better than any store-bought strawberry i’ve ever had!
do you ever compare conventional produce to farmer’s market produce?! the differences kind of blow my mind! the last time i was at the grocery store looking at apples, they were bigger than a softball! that’s just not normal. or fruit so waxy i could use it as a candle?! yikes.
for me, i like things to be as close to their natural state as possible. food, soil, water, me, and everything in between.
and that got me thinking about these strawberries i picked up at the farmer’s market last week. i was looking at them and decided to snap a couple fotos because i was thinking to myself, “i bet there are lots of people out there who don’t even know what REAL strawberries look like.”
these strawberries were SO full of flavour, too! something else that lacks in conventional produce. maybe it’s got something to do with mass producing them and lack of nutrient-rich soil.
anyway, i love that i can still find strawberries this time of year – as north carolina has a year-round farmer’s market and excellent long growing season. i hope to find some more when i go back this week!
i am truly fascinated by nature. nothing makes me feel more connected than LIFE itself… you know, the being alive part, not the stuff we fill our lives with. food gives me a feeling that is unlike anything else. when i chop up vegetables, i stand in awe for a minute and marvel at what is before me. i am taken aback every single time i cut a cabbage in half. it blows my mind… i always find myself thinking, “BUT WHY?! why do you grow like that?!” …not to mention that stunning colour!
it truly does amaze me that nature has such intricacies about it. romanesco is one of the biggest food wonders, in my opinion. cabbage is a close second. i am also fascinated by swiss chard. sometimes i look at food and think about how similar it is to us, to humans… so many details going on inside and out. my hope is that we can all try to be a little more like food, like nature. be more of the BEING and not just the human.
i digress.
i hope you enjoy these fotos i took while feeling inspired by this cool, intricate cabbage.
when i flipped it upside down, i thought it kind of represented a face. 😉
are you fascinated by nature?!
{colourful, too!!!}
———
fun facts about flavourful forbidden rice {also known as “black rice”}:
– it’s {drumroll, please}… gluten-free!!
– it’s rare {which to me, just immediately makes it cooler!}
– it is cultivated in small amounts – in its early days, was only harvested for the emperor {of china!}
– helps support a healthy heart and healthy cholesterol levels
– it’s rich in iron and offers a comprehensive range of amino acids
– it is much higher in protein and fiber than any of its cousins – brown, white, or purple
– makes a fun “risotto” or sticky pudding
– is extremely fragrant and beautiful on a plate
– gentler on the body, easier to digest than its cousins
– contains high levels of antioxidants {i mean, duh – look at that colour!}
———
you can find forbidden rice in health food stores or online. these days, you could probably even find it in your local grocery store, as i notice many of the mainstream chains are stocking more and more of this kind of thing as of late. 🙂
i get super excited when i see a rainbow on my plate. it just makes me happy to eat COLOUR! and these wonderful bright purple sweet potatoes please both the palate and the eye.
i love how they grow in weird shapes, too.
have you ever had a purple sweet potato? i was first introduced to them many years ago at whole foods, as they tend to get the “cool” produce a lot. since then i have been seeing them in mainstream supermarkets and grocery stores, as well. unlike purple potatoes, these do not lose colour when you cook them. in fact, they get BRIGHTER! it’s the coolest thing. Continue reading
when i say, “gherkins” – what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
for me, it’s the movie dirty dancing. weird, right?! there’s the scene where neil is asking baby if she is hungry, and he’s looking in the fridge… “leftover cabbage roll, fruit salad…? sweet gherkins?!” 😛
anyway… i don’t really like sweet pickles. but i do love dill pickles. and when i found these *adorable* baby gherkins, i literally squealed in excitement! apparently, they are also known as “cucamelons.” {teehehee}
they are slightly sour, and very juicy! which, i admit, was a little surprising. i also read that they are very easy to grow… which makes me totally want to try to include some in the garden next year!
they look like little watermelons!! eep! so cute. Continue reading
how cute are these?!
i don’t even know what to say about this adorable vegetable. when my new boss {i left the corporate world last week – details to follow!} told me that this looked like a watermelon inside, the first thought in my head was, “well, that would fotograph just perfectly with black lava salt!” 😀
now, i am not the biggest radish fan on this earth, but i do occasionally get cravings for them. i roasted some once, which totally changes their flavour – almost making the “bite” more tolerable. radishes are high in vitamin c and potassium, and they are a very low-calorie food.
these watermelon radishes are so pretty…
and sure enough, are a bright magenta colour inside!
watermelon radish…
so i obviously had to cut them into little watermelon-shaped slices…
sprinkle on some wonderful black lava salt.. for taste, and for effect! 😉
hello, watermelon radish!
nom nom… nom.
food & foto 