Growing your own food has so many benefits. Your food is healthier, the quality of your food is higher, you know exactly where your food is coming from, you have lessened your food miles, and most importantly you can grow food that is just not available at the supermarket.
This year, like every year, we are bombarded with reports on how the national food supply is threatened by this, that, or the other. This year it started with another salmonella outbreak, the flooding in the Midwest has destroyed large amounts of the corn supply (which is mainly used to feed our livestock and our gas tanks), the fishing grounds are dangerously depleted, and the food prices have simply shot up through the roof. Every time I see one of these reports it just makes me feel like seeing what is ripe or ready on my property to harvest that I know is safe, healthy and delicious.
So here is a short list, my raspberries and peaches are ripening as we speak,
but the fruit in my mini orchard is always raided by my daughter and her friends before I can even get the cameras out. This is the second year in a row that Alejandra has managed to forage it clean. But they were delicious. I compost my mini orchard with acidic things, like pine needles, and I have been curious how the plants turn the acid into super sweet sugar. But it works very well.
I also have someApples coming in! I still don't have the bushels I will have eventually, but I'll enjoy every last one this year and dream of next year when my apple trees will really start producing. And did you see my grapes? I will have a crop this year!
My Asian Gardens have been producing incredibly well. This past week I served some incredible stir fry meals, from Ch'ing Chang Bok Choy to incredible Tai basil pesto which is almost sugary sweet. Speaking of basil Lime Basil has rocketed to the top of the list of my most favorite of food producing plants.
That is a big statement, but it is true, it is so beyond delicious. I am trying it out in everything, and I will let you know what happens.
The end of June and into July have been perfect in terms of gardening weather. It has rained and sunny for a part of basically every day and my plants have been able to flower and put on leaf size. If it keeps up I may be in for a record harvest! Oh happy day!
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