On a Golden Afternoon

I know you people. You’ve had it up to your eyeballs with tales of lambing and resulting photos of the wooly bouncers. You didn’t at all enjoy the little computer program that told you what your ideal job would be (except perhaps Tori who is destined to be a vibrator tester). And you certainly did not appreciate a photo of a not-at-all charming toddler doing a face plant in a plate of rice. You want to hear about the garden; I feel the vibes, man. (Plus summer, as in the global warming we in AZ have been experiencing long before Al Gore started doing PowerPoint Presentations, is just around dead man’s turn and things might not be looking quite as lovely as they are now.)

Please be my horticultural voyeur, won’t you?

Look! I know it’s blurry and rather hard to make out but it is a muskmelon, i.e. cantaloupe seedling that has made it for 48 hours now. That’s a new record. Could I possibly savor the juicy sweetness grown from our own garden this year? I’m not placing any bets on it, but I sure am hoping.

In contrast, here is the zucchini that by summer’s end will have taken over the entire garden. It’s massive. I am warning you people. It’s not the cockroaches living after nuclear holocaust we should be worrying about; it’s zucchini, which, if you recall, I spit-the-yuck-out-of-my-mouth despise.

The squash I enjoy? The Yellow Crookneck? Here it is, trying just to survive the courgette onslaught. Have you seen “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes?” I am getting seriously concerned here. If you don’t hear from me for a while, it’s because I was eaten by a zucchini. I think I’ll name it Audrey II. (“Little Shop of Horrors,” remember?) I just won’t tell him; it will only serve to encourage him.

Now look at this thing of beauty, somehow resisting the bolt that comes with heat. Red Butter Lettuce.

And see? Red Leaf Lettuce?

When I first started gardening and began to grow these greens previously unknown to my I-have-only-ever-eaten-iceberg-lettuce husband, he gave me a lot of strange looks, especially when I put the nasturtium flowers into the resulting salad as well. (Conjure up you best Blue Collar Comedy Tour voice and think his thoughts at the time, “I don’t think lettuce was meant to come in those colors. It’s a daggum sin against nature.”)

Just to let you know, he likes it now, but secretly I think he still prefers good ol’ lacking in B-vitamins Iceberg.

The violas are still hanging in there. I think it must be because it is still fairly chilly, as into the 50’s at night. To this day, I cannot look at these flowers without getting the song from “Alice in Wonderland” in my head,

“You can learn a lot of things from the flowers,

Especially in the month of June.

You can learn a lot of things from the flowers,

On a golden afternoon.”

You might have noticed AIW has had an undue influence on my life. I blame it on a boss I had who was the spitting image of the Queen of Hearts, “ALL WAYS ARE MY WAYS!!!” So I watched it with co-workers whenever they’d pop by to prove it to them. (I actually ended up understanding and mostly liking her.)

I could go on and on and by the looks of it, I have. The broccoli is forcing us to eat our cruciferous veggies almost every night. The cauliflower hasn’t produced one damned thing (is that why they call it produce? Hmmm…) and I’m about to rip it out. I have given up on the pumpkin patch and am destined to only grow hot peppers in that particular bed.

Finally, on the up side, the beets that are interplanted with the green beans are close to harvest and the bean plants are covered in flower buds which mean yummy organic green beans almost every night. Be still my green thumb.

By the way, how do you know when potatoes are done?

Comments

[Beth in WI]

We had a zucchini summer like that. My mother tried every recipe valiantly. I think they even showed up in chocolate chip cookies. (ONCE.) I recommend shredding them and slipping a little bit in every time you make soup. They really don't have much flavor, so they will thicken it up a little and hopefully add some vitamins.

[melanie]

Ah, Lauren - your green thumb inspires...

I am so jealous! Can't wait to get out in the garden and rototill this weekend, I don't care if it's freakin' raining - we're going!

BTW-potatoes are "done" when the plants die back. Really. That's one thing that makes them loads of fun for the kids...'cause they go digging in the sand for them after the plants are gone, and in their little minds, it's like digging for treasure.

And zucchini is a take-over-the-garden monster here, too. With practically no intervention on the farmer's part. That's why the little one decided to grow it for the local market (they sell their produce through a 4-H program). Momma didn't raise a stupid child...

[Michelle]

First of all, I NEVER tire of photos of wooly bouncers (hint, hint!). Remember, I have none of my own yet this year -- although it was amusing to watch Valentine trying to balance on her hind legs to reach the new leaves on a shrubby tree in the pasture this morning. I think the other three are too chubby to even try....

Second of all, I can't BELIEVE you are already eating fresh produce from your garden! Our garden isn't even TILLED yet, much less planted! Of course, it got down into the 30s last night, so nothing would grow if I did have it planted....

Thirdly, try using zucchini EXACTLY as you do yellow crookneck squash. They are both summer squash, and I find they act -- and taste -- the same. I have grown yellow zucchini, and I would bet something big that you couldn't tell the difference when I fixed it.

Gorgeous lettuce photos, by the way. Almost as beautiful as flowers! After featuring the flowers of Boulderneigh this year, next year I'm going to focus on leaves. I find them fascinating -- and lovely. Have a great day!