Greetings Gardeners!
Here we are, a week past Lammas (Mid-Summer) – a time to celebrate abundance, enjoy the first harvests and share the garden’s bounty. As the halcyon days of summer fade into the rich days of autumn, I find myself reflecting on the beauty of our landscape. From the micro-world of my garden, with its myriad insects and microbial life to the macro-world of the sky and mountains, we are surrounded by nature’s healing energy. Gratitude abounds!
Veg Harvest and Storage Tips
After all of the work of planting, watering and maintaining the garden, comes the harvest – almost more work than everything else combined! This season has been an incredible growing year for me: the perfect amount of warmth and moisture in June and July really set the plants up well, and they are producing like mad now – it is such a pleasure to be in the garden these days, harvesting the fruits of my labour, observing the insect life and how each plant grows and basking in the beauty surrounding me. Harvesting can be overwhelming, but it is surprising how well mature plants can hold in the garden until you are ready to harvest them.
I tend to harvest over a two day period for items I’m taking to market: the root vegetables and time-consuming produce to harvest (such as broccoli, peas and beans) the day before market and the leafy greens and more delicate items (such as zucchini) the day of market. The root vegetables hold very well in water, overnight in a cool place and the time-consuming produce keeps very well, bagged and kept in the fridge or cooler, without compromising freshness or flavour. For the home gardener, harvest tends to happen as items are needed for eating. I’ve found the best way to keep garden produce fresh is to wash and dry it as soon as you can after harvesting. Leafy green vegetables, such as chard, kale, celery and lettuce benefit from being wrapped in paper towel, placed in a plastic bag and put in the fridge. Most other vegetables benefit from this storage method as well. Potatoes are best kept with the dirt on, and stored in the dark. If time escapes you, and your produce has gone floppy, simply soak it in a large bowl of cold water until firm again and store as above.
Cut Flower Tips
“Vegetables nourish the body, flowers nourish the soul” (Dianne Ott Whealy, co-founder of Seed Savers Exchange). This quote says it all for me!!
One of my joys in the summer season is cut flowers. I love to pick them, arrange them and have them all over my house! Some flowers for cutting are: calendula, cosmos, cornflowers, paper daisy, strawflowers, snapdragons and nigella. In fact, anything can be a cut flower! I like to interplant flowers and herbs in the vegetable garden – the diversity created sets the garden up well for pollinating and pest control, not to mention beauty! Cut flowers benefit from a conditioning period before arranging them. Conditioning sets cut flowers up well to withstand excess heat and bright sunlight once indoors in an arrangement. After cutting, strip the lower leaves off while still outside in the garden (I leave the trimmings right in the garden – organic matter for your soil microbes!) and immediately put the stem into a bucket of cool water. Once you have all of your stems picked, place the bucket in a cool place, out of direct sunlight and allow to stand overnight. The cut stems will draw up a good amount of water, and will be ready to arrange the next day.
Dakwäkäda-Haines Junction Farmer’s Market
You’ll find me at the Farmer’s Market every Wednesday, 4:30pm-6:30pm, on the Alaska Highway, across from Frosty’s. If you are out and about, stop by and say hi – I’d love to hear about your gardening adventures this season!
In Growing Harmony,
Jolene
