A stroll through the garden this morning left me as satisfied as I can be. Mostly through Anne’s hard work, things are looking pretty good. The tomatoes are hanging fat and plentiful on the vines. The pepper plants are lush and covered with blossoms. We’ve been harvesting English peas for over a week now. Lightly [...]

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We’ve picked about a quart and a half of strawberries the past two days from our 5′X4′ patch. Thanks to the wet weather, they are the plumpest, sweetest, and juiciest we’ve ever grown. We added a scant tablespoon of sugar to the first pickings, but we probably shouldn’t have. These little beauties are just fine [...]

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In Merry Olde England, they call it Lady Fingers. Sometimes, they use the Hindu word, bhindi. In Portuguese, the word is quiabo, and in non-English speaking Africa where it originated, it’s kingombo in some languages, and okuru in others.
Ann Barrett, author of Having It Y’all, an insider’s guide to life southern style, describes it as [...]

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A couple of days ago, before the rain arrived, I took a stroll around Our Little Piece of Paradise to see what I could see. It amazes me how fast a piece of fallow land can go from “manageable” to “well, maybe next year.” Seemingly over night, the earth explodes with growth. The slope in [...]

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The fall lettuce crop is coming in and we’re having some excellent salads. We’re harvesting the mesclun mix as well as thinning four other types of lettuce. The arugula, spinach, and turnip seeds went in the ground this weekend.

Anne added some nasturtium blossoms to the baby lettuce for last nights salad. Nasturtiums are easy to [...]

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Literally translated, pappa al pomodoro, means “mush of tomato” in Italian. In this country, we know it as Tuscan Bread Soup. Tuscany is in central Italy and has an inland geography  much like our own. The region is noted for its grilled meats and hearty soups. This is the area that produces pecorino cheese and [...]

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My friend John stopped by yesterday. A visit from John during harvest is like fishing at the beach when the Blues are running. It can be a very bountiful experience.  John, and his father Fred, operate a 1,000 acre farm in Bland County. In one fell swoop, I have more produce to deal with than [...]

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One of the things Anne has always wanted is a garden with enough flowers to practice her flower arranging skills. Now she finally has one.

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