Blue Ridge Gardener

No doubt about it, this summer is flying by.

It has been a month of harvesting all kinds of things from the garden.  I figure we have averaged no less than a squash every day, and a zucchini every other day.

We have picked over a dozen small tomatoes, and we have about a dozen pounds that are ripening soon.  Not to mention that these plants keep putting out new growth and flowers.

We have picked several batches of turnips, kale and Swiss chard that have been tasty.

We have averaged for the past 10 weeks all the salad greens we have wanted.  I figure that if we had been buying lettuce, spinach, mesculun and other greens at the store, we would have spent $4 per week.  What’s more amazing, most of this produce has come from about 5 square feet of growing space.

We have been eating potatoes, onions and garlic that were picked in June.  The Italian wife has been proud of the garlic and has given lots away.  I’m not sure we will have enough to get us through the winter, but we have certainly has been good.  The cost of organic garlic the size of my bulbs is about $1 dollar per bulb.  We can say that we have given away and will eat about $50 dollars worth (I think I invested $10 dollars in garlic sets last fall.

Don’t forget all of the fresh herbs.  I estimate that we have picked over $40 dollars of parsley, basil, chives, thyme, rosemary and the like this summer.  We may have invested $5 dollars in seed and materials.  Better than ROI, is the fact that we have lots of good food.  Rose has made pesto a few times and has some stored for the future.

Then there was the rain.  A month to savor after last summer’s dry spell.  I have recorded almost 5 inches of rain in my garden since the beginning of the month.  We have received moisture on no less than 15 days of the month.  No drought in my backyard.

Can you believe it? August begins tomorrow.

I heard this story on NPR this morning:

Rocky Ford Cantaloupes:As Sweet As Can Be

Quick Facts:

What’s the difference between a cantaloupe and a muskmelon?

Generally the names cantaloupe and muskmelon are both used to describe this fruit with soft orange flesh. But the fruit with the webbed rind you probably call a cantaloupe is actually a muskmelon. True cantaloupes, a deeply grooved fruit with smooth skin, are rarely grown commercially in the U.S.

Still, in Rocky Ford, Colo., as in most parts of the country, they’re called cantaloupes.

How can I tell a ripe melon?

The melon should smell sweet, an orange color should be visible in-between the netting on the rind and the skin should yield to mild pressure.

Avoid buying melons that are still green (they’re not quite ripe) and those with part of the stem still attached — that means it was picked too early.

How long will it stay fresh?

Up to two weeks in the refrigerator

A little video update of the garden…

We have had more than our fair share of squash and zucchini this season.  Three hardy plants of each is more than any couple could eat (we need a freezer with a bit of size to handle all that we have produced this season).  Even the regional paper had an opinion.

Read: Squash abundance: Don’t squander your harvest

Excerpt:

“You can use shredded zucchini in place of potatoes in pancakes,” she said. “You can puree it into tomato sauce or stuff them with rice and vegetables.”

Zucchini and yellow squash should be picked when they’re about 8 inches long. After that, their flesh starts to become stringy and the seeds bitter.

You can reduce the number of fruits on each plant by harvesting the blossoms, which are considered a delicacy.

“If you still have an overabundance, you can always donate the extra to MANNA,” Hohenstein said.

There are some good recipes at the end of the article, too.