Spotlight: AmpleHarvest.org

Many people are aware that there is a hunger issue all over the world, and in US they call it "food insecurity" - meaning for families that are struggling financially, it can be hard to get good food (or any food) on the table each day. That's where some of the local communities have stepped in and joined in effort to deliver excess harvest to local pantries and food kitchens. One such organization is Ample Harvest - you can find it on the Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmpleHarvest.org - and read more about what they do in details. You can also see if you have too many veggies that can be donated to a local group by your area - their website allows you to search by zipcode.  The community garden where I help out belongs to one of such kitchens and benefits directly local people who are struggling. In past two weeks we've had two families stay in the area that lost their homes to apartment fire and they got most of the meals from that kitchen.

Perfect Cantaloupe

This was worth the wait! My husband normally not a big fan of fruit, but he gave me one slice and ate all the rest in one sitting! It was very fragrant, very sweet and super juicy and made him grin from ear to ear :)  Now to wait for others to ripen so he can enjoy some more.

Definitely planting more next year for him since it made his so happy - planning a bed full of manure now and saved seeds from this one for next round.

First Cantaloupe, winter squash and yard-long noodle beans

I did an unscheduled run to the community garden to get few things from my neighbor's plot - Michelle is out of town and asked to pick her produce and deliver to the kitchen, which I did of course.

But while I was there, I also picked up my batch of zucchini, nice size cabbage, few tomatoes, hot cherry peppers and few of the winter squash - butternut. Yes, I could have left it on the vine longer, but I want to get some ready for eating when my sister is here, and they still need to "cure" in the sun so I picked them early. There are quite a few left on the vine and they'll be ready for picking at the end of September, so we'll keep those for winter.

But the highlight was my first cantaloupe for this year! I know it might seem strange, but it's a victory for me as usually I don't get to have them. Either groundhogs/rabits eat it, or it doesn't grow well. Well this time we got it, and it made my hubby very happy - it's his favorite melon.

And after all that bounty, I went to the CSA farm and pick some more (yes, I LOVE picking veggies and can't get enough) and it gave me a chance to spend 2 quiet hours on the fresh air - no people, no car noise. Just me and a huge field where I had to hunt for lemon-cucumbers lost in their vines and then 100 or so feet of yard-noodle bean  row.

Only few cucumbers were found, but a large bag of beans were picked and put in the fridge - it's all going back to NYC with the owner on Saturday once I bring it back to the farm - this way beans won't get too old for eating and won't be wasted, and they get stored in a cool fridge awaiting transport.

Harvest Aug 10

A little bit more variety this week - greens, beans, few carrots for snack, beets, tomatoes and peppers at home garden. Not a lot, but enough for us to enjoy our meals. 

In the community garden, hot peppers, large and cherry tomatoes, cucumbers & zucchini are still producing. Many of my tomato plants started to die off because it's been about 10 days without rain, and even when I water myself it's not enough. But it was a good run so I'm not complaining.

Visit Daphne's page (link on the right side) to see what others are harvesting this week.

Cured Garlic

Last night was a good time to clean and store all that garlic that was drying out for past month. It definitely "dried" out and got much lighter in weight that I thought it would be, but it's enough for us to keep for winter and use for seeds for next year's planting in October.

 Obviously the biggest heads from all varieties are going to be used for seeds. I haven't decided if I want to replant turban (soft neck) variety yet.The "for seed" garlic was planted separately and was picked much later so they don't have as much papers wrapped around it.

For now I will be using some of it in my tomato sauces and cooking - my hubby loves roasted garlic mash and lemon garlic shrimp so I'll be indulging his appetite :)

Next Chapter in life - Master Gardener program

Well I've finally arrived to the point where I'm ready to change my life - I'm taking plunge and going for Master Gardener certification program that will start this fall/winter. For past 20 yrs I've worked in corporate world of Telco and industry and past 10 yrs as project manager, and I think I'm ready to take a step back and focus more on my personal well being and do something I really enjoy - gardening, farming etc. Obviously I will keep working full time as I do transition and education in next year or two, but the plan is to start doing more weekends/part time in evenings in nurseries or at the farms. This is what makes me happy, even if it's more physically tiring but mentally so much more rewarding.

Is it the right choice? Well, time will tell. At any rate having more knowledge never hurt anyone.

Pretty flowers in the garden and large tomato

We're in the hottest part of the summer and the only thing that really thriving are my flowers - half got eaten by deer once again, but some made it and I enjoy seeing them every day. From roses, to hibiscus, zinnias and sunflowers - they are truly my pretties in the garden. 

And my first really large tomato was over 1 lb and 3 oz. Not too shabby.