The early hours of the morning are my favorite time of day in the garden. Now that we’re into the later part of summer, the middle of the day and on into the afternoon it starts getting a little too hot for my liking and there’s always chores to be done, so in the morning the garden smells fresh, everything is covered in dew and I find myself walking around discovering what’s ripe, thinking of what to cook for dinner and capturing images of everything.
What’s ripe in the garden now?
Apples: Apples are staggered for us as far as when they ripen. Right now we have Williams Pride and Gravenstein ripe for eating and cooking, with Florina ripening in the next week or two. We grow in the USDA zone 8b. Find your growing zone here by inputing your zip code. When you are looking on websites for seeds or starts they’ll list what zones the plant grows best in. I made a Rustic Apple bread that I have perfected, the other day, and its the perfect complement to a cup of coffee for a hearty farm breakfast. I’ll share the recipe with you in the upcoming week for fall.
Kale: This year we have lacinato or dinosaur kale and Blue Curled Scotch/Vates kale.
Chard: I planted a rainbow mix of chard this spring and they’re still going strong. Chard is more of a cooler weather crop so plant again either from seed or starts for a fall crop.
Beets: Every year something does really well for me. This year it was beets! A beautiful vegetable that you can roast for a lovely roasted beet and goat cheese salad drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette.
Beans: The last of summer’s bounty. Green beans are an easy crop to grow and so versatile to use. We threw together dinner the other night and added in a side of steamed buttered beans that is so fresh right off the vine, they melt in your mouth. Fava Beans were a trial crop this year and they were also so easy to grow. I direct seeded them into the ground and within a couple weeks they were almost out of control. So different from the canned lima beans of the past.
Celery: Celery is an easy to grow crop, but resents the heat. It fools you when its small and it’s easy to forget how huge and bushy these plants will get. This year my celery has been struggling with not enough air circulation and some of the stalks have browned. In the mornings I’ve been hacking away at any dead stalks and trying to make more room for healthier parts of the plants. The perfect fall crop for soups, casserole and juicing. A comforting tuna noodle casserole hits the spot come cooler temps.
Onion: Yellow onions, red onions and Walla Walla Sweet onions took over a whole section of the garden this year. We go through so many onions, from soups, casseroles, tacos, stir-frys, onions are a must have in the garden these days. I buy bags of onions starts from a local co-op (the livestock kind of co-op that sells hay, grain and horse de-wormer, not the food kind of co-op). Try growing some for fall. Just remember to give them plenty of room!
Carrots: Carrots are my bugger of a crop. Either I fail to thin them enough, they don’t germinate or the rabbits terrorize them before they can yield anything worthy of eating. This year I planted a rainbow variety and thinned them like a crazed fiend. And low and behold the most tender carrots emerged. Farming is a lesson in persistence and patience if nothing else.
Grapes: Several years ago we were given 4 old grape vines. We planted them with no idea what variety or even if they were wine grapes or eating grapes. Later on that year, bunches of green grapes emerged and then darkened into a deep purple color into September. We later found out they were all Concord grapes and make the most devilish concord grape jelly. A time intensive jelly, but oh so addictive. I’ll share the recipe later this year.
As I wander around the garden and decide what my plan is for the day, I set down my coffee somewhere in the garden and eventually start watering things, picking what I want for a green juice for the morning and sometimes weeding a few places that have gotten out of control.
And as the morning fades into the heat of the day, my list of daily chores grows and soon the wheelbarrow will be full of weeds to dump or compost to add to certain beds.
Morning will always be my favorite time of day in the country.