Collecting wild edibles
My cherry and plum trees are exploding with fruit! I can’t even begin to describe the joy this gives me.
Seriously, if you haven’t yet planted a couple of fruit trees, what are you waiting for?! It couldn’t be simpler. And then you, too, will find yourself grinning from ear to ear over the never-ending wonders of nature.… Read More
I was just reading an article about planting a food forest by a farmer whose philosophy I share. And it reminded me that I’ve been doing a variation on this with my property for about 10 years. I call it creating “Snacking Stations.”
I started doing this with an eye toward building in “passive food providers” onto my property so that even if I might not have time for a large garden every year, I would still be able to … Read More
Time to pick the last of the fruit…
and plant the garlic for next year.
It’s these rhythms of the seasons that continue to give me balance amid the rest of the world’s craziness.
Photo: Timothy Boucher’s Lettuce Operation.
I’ve been growing food since I was 12 years old. That summer, I hand-dug a quarter acre garden in one of our unused horse fields and I’ve never looked back.
It’s provided a never-ending source of enjoyment and satisfaction for me through the years.
No matter how crazy life might get, all I need to do is take a walk in my garden to lift my spirits.
As I’ve gotten more proficient and efficient, I’ve … Read More
The garden is lush with all the rain and warming temps. It looks like it’s going to be a bountiful season. We already have lots of lettuce and herbs, peas and beans, kale and broccoli, and of course all the June berries.
Looking for a quick something for dessert this evening, I came back with these. I was thinking a nice strawberry rhubarb crisp would be refreshing.
But Graidy was thinking fresh strawberries…… Read More
While I truly love growing things, I also really enjoy harvesting straight from nature. I’ve been a wild edible collector for almost as many years as I’ve been a gardener. This year, even Cait seems to have taken to foraging. All that was required was to have her taste the sweet nectar of these two drinks for herself to get her scurrying out the door for more.
This first drink is a tea that is delicious hot or cold. We … Read More
One of my great joys in life is heading out to the garden to collect food for dinner. Weather like this simply adds to the adventure.
I’m usually very thankful for rain, but with all the wet weather we’ve had, it’s really slowing down some of the crops.
As you can see, my selection still mainly rests with cool weather crops. Here, we’ve got some snap peas, a variety of lettuces, a bowl of fresh-picked raspberries, and a bunch of … Read More
As much as anything, what I love about gardening are the nice surprises — what I call the “Gifts” and “Guests.”
The gifts come from seeds that I didn’t intentionally plant. Since I use open-pollinated seeds, and I save my own seeds from year to year, I’m always allowing a few plants to reach the stage where they can set their own seeds. Invariably, a few of the vegetables don’t get harvested and wind up composting on the ground. When … Read More
