There’s a strange feeling after you step foot in a garden again after seven weeks away. All the seeds have seemingly sprouted overnight. Plants that were only seedlings are suddenly bearing fruit. The volunteer squash (which came up over winter) is already ripe and curing in the sun.
It’s like seeing a long-lost friend after several years (which is what it feels like in garden time) and though you haven’t interacted since then, you easily fall in stride again.
Coming home to an edible garden is such a treat after many days and nights of eating out. It’s the thing I missed most about being away from home (aside from our animals, of course) and thanks to a reliable drip system and a healthy dose of compost tea before we left, our plants have been happy and productive. We have tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, cucumbers, beans, beets, carrots, squash, and all kinds of leafy greens still going strong, and I’ve picked out stacks of seed packets for plants I want to put in the ground soon.
Needless to say, I’m looking forward to digging my hands in the dirt again this weekend!
Here were the five little things (out of many!) that made my week…
1. This beautiful head of savoy cabbage hung on through some hot weather.
2. A hefty King of Siberia tomato taunting me on the vine.
3. Pink blueberries! (Yes, they’re ripe!)
4. The last time I checked on the grapes, they were the size of pinheads. Now they’re nearly fully grown!
5. This tomatillo plant is the “Charlie Brown Christmas tree” of all tomatillo plants… but despite its scrawny stature, it’s already loaded with almost a dozen husks!
44 Comments
Jessica Riozzi
July 11, 2015 at 8:35 pmJessica Riozzi liked this on Facebook.
Shirley Herrera
July 11, 2015 at 8:35 pmShirley Herrera liked this on Facebook.
theGardenBetty
July 11, 2015 at 6:01 pmAfter being away from my garden for seven weeks, this is what I came home to. Five Things Friday http://t.co/2WMq5K6GKf #gardenchat
Rhonda Beigert
July 11, 2015 at 4:40 pmWelcome home!
Linda Ly
July 11, 2015 at 6:46 pmThanks Rhonda!
Garden Betty
July 11, 2015 at 2:58 pmThanks Sarah! I still have a few pics from Oregon and California to post from my last few days on the road, which will hopefully help with the withdrawal I’m already feeling. π
Anna
July 11, 2015 at 12:47 pmWelcome back! Your garden missed you while you were gone, and had presents ready for you when you got back. The cabbage especially- boy there’s nothing better. What are you going to make with it? I had a delicious summer slaw the other day- mostly cabbage of course but it also had tiny diced tomatoes, green onion, and carrot in there and it was goooooooooood.
We planted some grapes for the first time this spring, and they’re already taking off. We hope they do alright growing on the fence that surrounds the chicken yard. So far they’re doing great. What kind of grapes are you growing? We decided to try a table type- probably the only table type hardy where we live. Where we purchased our grape vines from also sent us a freebie trial of another type that’s supposed to be good for table and cooking. I honestly do not know a lot about them and it’s all new.
I’m too scared to leave my garden and birds home yet. I’m still convinced that no one can care for them as good as I can. I’ll get over it some day.
Linda Ly
July 11, 2015 at 6:55 pmI actually have two heads of cabbage. One turned into a cabbage risotto, and the other will be fermented into sauerkraut next week.
We have three grapevines and they’re all table grapes. The ones in the post are Thompson Seedless and they are supposed to taste better once they turn an amber color. We’ll see! We might leave a few bunches for raisins.
As for no one taking care of the garden and animals as well as you can… well, to a certain extent that’s true, because we like to do things “just so” and since they’re our babies, we have high expectations. I’ll say that the first week was hardest because everything was still so fresh in my mind, but past that, it’s much easier to let go and know they’re in good hands. π
Marc Powell
July 11, 2015 at 12:35 pmMarc Powell liked this on Facebook.
Greg Towne
July 11, 2015 at 12:35 pmGreg Towne liked this on Facebook.
PoodlePlus1
July 11, 2015 at 12:26 pmRT @theGardenBetty: I’m back home and I can’t wait to dig my hands in the dirt this weekend! Five Things Friday http://t.co/sfkihbgGh7 #garβ¦
theGardenBetty
July 11, 2015 at 12:01 pmI’m back home and I can’t wait to dig my hands in the dirt this weekend! Five Things Friday http://t.co/sfkihbgGh7 #gardenchat
Deb Neyens
July 11, 2015 at 8:25 amDeb Neyens liked this on Facebook.
Patti Herdell
July 11, 2015 at 8:25 amPatti Herdell liked this on Facebook.
Greg Hadel
July 11, 2015 at 8:25 amGreg Hadel liked this on Facebook.
Heidi Contreras
July 11, 2015 at 8:25 amHeidi Contreras liked this on Facebook.
Jeff Bleaken
July 11, 2015 at 6:50 amReturning to an old friend. So well put.
Lou S. Cornelious
July 11, 2015 at 6:20 amLou S. Cornelious liked this on Facebook.
Stephen Howes
July 11, 2015 at 5:23 amGreat pics! I noticed in your tomatillo pic there’s a clip holding up the vine? Where can I get those. Tired of cutting up old t-shirts and tying vines to stakes. π
Garden Betty
July 11, 2015 at 4:26 pmI use these ones. They’re excellent! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XEH17U/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003XEH17U&linkCode=as2&tag=gardbett-20&linkId=WTLKGZYOQBCO43WQ
Lydia Ann
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theGardenBetty
July 11, 2015 at 3:28 amBlogged on Garden Betty: Five Things Friday http://t.co/9mx0ErCc2N