A Sweet Harvest
Madalene and I have been tending a garden in a local plot near our house. For a modest fee you rent a plot, and then everyone in the garden meets monthly to do work on the site. Then you just tend your garden whenever you want, and reap the rewards. Its a good situation for everyone involved, and Missouri weather, for all its hot and humid-ness, provides a long, good growing season.
This picture is of the bumper crop of raspberries and lettuce I harvested today. Our garden has several lettuce plants, and between them, they produce more lettuce than we can actually consume. The entire garden adheres pretty strictly to organic growing practices, and so it is generally assumed that a small portion of your crop will go to the insects, but things are doing pretty well without chemical assistance. Madalene has sighted several mantises in the garden, and we’ve been using beer to lure slugs away from the succulent lettuce.
The berries come from a communal plot that is stocked with overgrown raspberry and blackberry plants. Everyone helps water them, and then if you are around and the berries are ripe, you harvest and enjoy. Today I found nearly every visible berry had been harvested or eaten by bugs and birds. However, a large branch of the shrub had begun to collapse, and a small natural lean-to had been formed under its draping leaves. I got on my knees and peered underneath, discovering a cache of uneaten berries.
As in many things, the sweetest fruit comes to those who are willing to go where no one else dares, and this truth is exemplified no clearer than in the art of berry picking. I crawled under the drooping branches, pushing them gently up over myself. From my tenuous position on the ground, I grabbed handful after handful of berries from the lair, gently scooting out to place them in my basket. Many scratches and dirty knees later, I had a good quantity of fresh raspberries (and two blackberries). I ate some on salad, ate some raw, and I intend to eat some on ice cream later.
As the summer progresses, our peppers and tomatoes will come into ripeness, and carrots, basil and dill will follow close behind. In fact, the growing season is so long here, that we will probably plant another round of vegetables as these plants finish their lives.
Friday 04 Jun 2004 | Sam | Personal