Plant: Pumpkin and Kentucky Wonder bean seeds; potatoes in a tub.

Harvest: One kirby cucumber, a few okra pods, cinnamon basil, thyme, lemon thyme, tarragon, bunching onion greens, a couple of red onions (by mistake while weeding), sage, rosemary, chives, “big leaf” shiso

Preserve: Dried cinnamon basil leaves; dehydrated plum tomato slices; froze blueberries and green pepper strips. Checked both batches of pineapple vinegar.

Waste Not: Made chicken broth; used half a barrel of rainwater while establishing raised bed around barrels and then had rains that filled both barrels; built bean teepees out of poles I trimmed earlier this year from butterfly bush cuttings; worked the compost piles. On the one step back page – the bedroom window A/C went in and on.

Want Not/Prep: Despite last week’s dire prediction, this week brought cases of tomatoes at the farmer’s market – got a total of 50# of tomatoes; got the second rain barrel installed and linked to the first and built a raised bed around the barrels; got a raised bed established in 1/3 of the vegie patch that we’ve never planted before; started planning where to build/put cold frames; got topsoil (for leveling) and sides for rain barrel/raised bed installations. Researched some preservation techniques/recipes and reading about winter gardening.

Community: Food shopped only at the farmer’s market, the usual garden talk. Some breaking news of opportunities — my town is starting a community garden and a Habitat for Humanity ReStore is coming to the area.

Eat: Fantastic juicy peaches out of hand, sliced with blueberries, and roasted, then served with self-syrup and cream; watermelon; fresh tomato salsa served with whole wheat tortillas and other good fixings from stores; cucumber and onion salad; mixed summer vegies and fresh potatoes, sauteed with herbs; hash browns and eggs for dinner (this is a treat); homemade yogurt cheese with chopped herbs (really good); tried a new tomato for us, Black Russian, nice though we’d prefer Brandywines if we could get them.

Like most of you I am rejoicing at last with warmer weather and less rain. There is some sort of fungus? on the cherry trees from all the moisture. The beans have sort of perked up, the zuk has flowers, I pulled up many sunflowers because the city was on my case… encroaching on public walkway. Whatever.
Ate the last of the raspberries, chard, few green beans, eggs, lots of sage in everything, the first ripe tomato, a small green pepper.
Harvested the garlic, the turnip seeds, the chard seeds.
Prepping a new garlic bed. Planted deeply discounted spring bulbs under the tree in the back yard. Trimmed out loads of vegetation and volunteer junk trees…. I turn this into compost and kindling.
Sales of kitchen textiles still amazingly brisk at the farmer’s market. I have had to hire sales help. I am sewing ALL the time. I signed up for more indoor markets in the fall and renewed my membership in the Be Local group. We are working towards a full time indoor farmer’s market in town. The city has an old building they will “give” us.

I’m proud that I cleaned out the clothes. I’ve got too much stuff, this was the first step in another major declutter.

Harvest something – parsley

preserve something – nothing yet – still winter.

reduce waste – cleared under our bed and donated lots of things to the school, neighbours and friends.

prep and storage – put in the new (secondhand) pantry cupboard.

food systems – nope

eat the food – almost out of tomato relish. Still eating preserved apple and apricots. Still lots of jelly left.

Thats it really. I do need to get the crab apple transplanted soon as well as get some apple trees. Have ordered some cranberries.

viv in nz

2. Harvest something- A few last raspberries, a forerunner tomato, a couple of peas, a couple zucchini & summer squash. I have more garden this year, why do I have less produce? Curse the bad weather!

3. Preserve something- Bought 5 lbs of blueberries and froze half for jam later.

4. Waste not- husband brought old computer graph rolls home for art projects for the boys, the usual compost & chicken feeding with old food.

5. Want not- Bought more pb, got freecycle shoes for DS5 for next summer, ordered a bunch of bulk stuff through our buying club.

6. Community- Still doing the twice-weekly barter market, traded some earrings I made to the neighbor girl for her mom’s birthday, she made a small purse for a birthday present for DS5′s friend. Delivered dinner to a friend with new baby. Shared childcare with a friend; our older kids are in swimming lessons together. Am still organizing Fridays at the Park for kids all summer. Participated in a task force survey on how to keep the library and what other services might pair well with it. Bought eggs from the knitting lady at the corner coffee shop. Signed the poster for the Eat Local challenge at the co-op!

7. Eat! Man, did we eat blueberries this week! Good thing I froze some, we devoured at least three pounds in four days. Pot roast with CSA veggies, fresh green bean and potato salad, scrambled eggs with greens, homemade coconut ice cream (okay, not local, but I had the coconut milk in the food storage rotation), ramen with fresh veggies and egg drop, raisin walnut bread, cornbread, local honey from the barter market, and chicken stew.

1. Plant something – nada

2. Harvest something – tomatoes, cucumbers, apple, blackberries, yellow zucchini, green zucchini, turnips, turnip greens, peas, chard, lettuce, potatoes, dandelions, onions, leeks, garlic, strawberries, chicken eggs, duck eggs.

3. Preserve something – froze rhubarb, green beans and runner beans, made sauerkraut, hummus and granola, dried and stored fava beans, dried and bagged zucchini chips, allium blossoms, and medicinal comfrey.

4. Reduce waste – accepted compost and spare zukes from townies. Gave the spare zukes to the poultry.

5. Preparation and Storage – see under dried and froze, above. Preparing to clean and paint the porch/deck area. Checked wine-making supplies; need to find the cheesecloth and get new tubing.

6. Build Community Food Systems – selling duck eggs, giving away veggies.

7. Eat the Food – from frozen: plum sauce, applesauce, chicken. From the land: Apple! duck and chicken eggs, bok choi, turnips, turnip greens, potatoes, zucchini, elephant garlic, blackberries, onions, peas, green beans, runner beans, strawberries, mint, basil, chives, cucumbers, cabbage, cauliflower. From storage: wheat, oats, rye, buckwheat.