Is there anything better than picking your dinner???

[catherine]

OK, I know I'm like a little kid seeing a big balloon for first time, and while I've gardened, I'm very much a late bloomer, but I just can't get over how cool it is to go outside to my back yard to get dinner. It's amazing! Tonight I couldn't decide between a salad of mizuna and lettuce or a nice gently cooked swiss chard. In any case, I have some green beans that are really almost done. I also have a nice variety of tomatoes to throw in. And I have tons of herbs still--basil and cilantro and sorrel.

Honestly, what could be better than this? I many of you are true gardeners, horticulturists and farmers and may take this all for granted, but I just am in awe.

Anyone want to wax poetic on the joy of picking your dinner?

[CathyA]

Yes! I don't pick the whole dinner, but I feel so very rich when I just walk out there and pick a few things to eat with dinner. Wish it could last all year long.
It's really fun!

[frugalone]

I don't have a veggie garden currently, but I used to love picking cherry tomatoes off the vine, warmed by the sun, and popping them into my mouth. I also used to eat green beans straight from the vine, and I don't really even LIKE green beans!

Used to grow my own basil and make jars of pesto for everyone for Christmas gifts. I kind of miss it. Luckily, there is a kind soul at work who has a bumper crop of tomatoes and has been bringing them in for us all summer!

[Simplemind]

We have dedicated veggie spots and also mix veggies in with plants and flowers. We put something new in each year. This year... apples,cherries, pears, blue berries, black berries, celery, spinach, lettuce, beets, carrots, corn, cucumbers, acorn squash, summer squash, zucchini, 6 varieties of tomatoes, 8 varieties of peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, ornamental pumpkins, cilantro, basil, rosemary, onions, garlic. You may say.......... I love my garden. It is a pain in the ass to get it planned and planted but after that I am in love with it all summer. Every year something does amazing never to be duplicated again. I can never figure out what the secret is. Last year was peppers and we are still eating the frozen ones. This year is tomatoes and I make a crockpot full of sauce once a week. We struggle with deer over the fruit trees because they are all miniature.

[Blackdog Lin]

Your post made me smile catherine - I hope that you are enjoying it so much as to turn it into a lifelong habit/hobby/endeavor. It IS fun, isn't it?

[iris lilies]

I am trying to see the huge craploads of plant bulk generated by DH's obsession with growing food bounty of Mother Nature in a positive light, since we are deep in the middle of harvest time and I am overwhelmed.

There ARE times where we take a dish to a neighborhood potluck, and DH likes to detail all of the items in it that he or his family grew. I like that, it's fun.

But gosh, it's so much stuff. We just this moment had a wee argument about how many lbs of beets are sitting out there in our various gardens, unharvested--I say nearly 10 lbs, he says closer to 6 lbs. Regardless, there is a limit as to how many beets I will cook up.

So catherine, here's that "all things in moderation" idea--too many beets, not a good thing, it weighs on me. Fortuntely, this all gets turned back into compost.

haha now we just had an argument, less "wee," about my excessive lily growing. I postulate that my lilies are part of our net assets since they will be here next year,they are increasing and add to our net worth, but those beets in the ground are just rubbish. The beets are compost.

[Simplemind]

IL, I weep for your unloved beets.

[iris lilies]

IL, I weep for your unloved beets.

:D they thank you!

[Packy]

I was sitting here, thinking what you need to do with that bumper crop of Beets. I came up with several clever ideas. 1)Process them--cut 'em up, wrap 'em in butcher paper, mark the package with a grease pencil, and chuck 'em in the freezer for future use.. They will then be: "Lockered Beets". Ha. Get It? 2)Take all the surplus beets and other vegetables you have, place them in a vat, and ferment them to make ethanol. This, you can use to supplement the regular gas in your car. See? 3) Collaborate with Mr Bae on a recipe for preparing delicious beets, using flour to make a gravy when you cook 'em, and a proprietary blend of seasonings. Call your recipe: "Princeton Beets" Ha. Get it? Harvard Beets/Princeton Beets. Okay, Thank Me.

[catherine]

I am trying to see the huge craploads of plant bulk generated by DH's obsession with growing food bounty of Mother Nature in a positive light, since we are deep in the middle of harvest time and I am overwhelmed.

There ARE times where we take a dish to a neighborhood potluck, and DH likes to detail all of the items in it that he or his family grew. I like that, it's fun.

But gosh, it's so much stuff. We just this moment had a wee argument about how many lbs of beets are sitting out there in our various gardens, unharvested--I say nearly 10 lbs, he says closer to 6 lbs. Regardless, there is a limit as to how many beets I will cook up.

So catherine, here's that "all things in moderation" idea--too many beets, not a good thing, it weighs on me. Fortuntely, this all gets turned back into compost.

haha now we just had an argument, less "wee," about my excessive lily growing. I postulate that my lilies are part of our net assets since they will be here next year,they are increasing and add to our net worth, but those beets in the ground are just rubbish. The beets are compost.

That's funny, IL!! Yes, moderation is a good thing. I actually have too few beets and DH is trying to talk me out of growing them next year. He doesn't like root vegetables because of the real estate they require for one beet/onion/carrot etc, but I keep telling him that I don't care. It's just fun to have the variety. Plus we're expanding our garden next year. In any case, you and your dh sound just like me with mine. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder--I think lilies are beautiful and important, but I beg to differ with you on the beets. Even if they are compost, compost is NOT rubbish!! Compost is a beautiful, and the world needs a lot more of it.

On my "More Beautiful World" FB group page there was a Belgian woman who talked about how she put her extra cucumbers in a basket and set it outside her house with a sign telling people to take one. Would that work in your neighborhood?

Anyway, I laughed out loud at your post.

And simplemind--I'm very jealous! You have a great thing going in your garden as well! I'm going to do zucchini next year for sure (and I'll get a fight with DH over that one as well, because they spread. Big deal! I have a lot of lawn that has to get mowed every week--doesn't bother me if we cut down on that chore a little.)

[CathyA]

IL, I weep for your unloved beets.

LOL!

[iris lilies]

oh compost, I love it! One can never have too much high quality compost. And if you've got "low quality" compost, just cook it longer. It will get there eventually.

[Packy]

Picking Up Your Dinner? No, I prefer that the Pizza Delivery People bring it out--that way I won't miss a single minute of The Game. I do insist that it be delivered piping hot, with ooey-gooey cheese, still bubbling.

[Lainey]

Picking Up Your Dinner? No, I prefer that the Pizza Delivery People bring it out--that way I won't miss a single minute of The Game. I do insist that it be delivered piping hot, with ooey-gooey cheese, still bubbling.

ha ha Packy. I have to admit I lean in your direction. People who are raw foodists and such are so much on the other end of my food spectrum. That said, I don't care to live to age 90 anyway, so once/week pizza parties will continue!

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Tonight I picked (and cooked) heirloom butter beans, (alas, I only have 2 plants), a tomato and cooked some potatoes that I did not grow but were given to me by a friend who lives nearby. A dinner of very locally grown veggies.

[Packy]

ha ha Packy. I have to admit I lean in your direction. People who are raw foodists and such are so much on the other end of my food spectrum. That said, I don't care to live to age 90 anyway, so once/week pizza parties will continue!Thank you very much.

[Gregg]

DW is our raw foodie, I'm the canner. Both of us are busy in early September. We're eating her end of the spectrum now and will start in on mine when the snow flies. I don't get tired of picking wonderful food, but have to admit that I spent a small fortune on raw food cookbooks last winter and planted a garden that would insure something (anything!) beyond "garden salads" that DW could, by all indication, exclusively live on for grotesquely extended periods of time.

[JaneV2.0]

I may have an herb and/or salad garden someday, but in general I prefer picking my dinner from a menu. I salute all of you backyard farmers and agree that there's nothing like freshly-grown food. My German grandmother had a kitchen garden, and I still remember picking currants and gooseberries--delightful.

[catherine]

My German grandmother had a kitchen garden, and I still remember picking currants and gooseberries--delightful.

[Cue Homer Simpson-like thought bubble over my head] Mmmm.. currants!

I'll have to put that on my list of foods to consider adding. I love love love mince pie, and growing currents would give me incentive to make one.

[awakenedsoul]

I've been really appreciating my garden lately. Since I've been staying home since the bike accident, it's nice to be able to go outside and pick a pomegranate or a Valencia orange if I want a piece of fruit. I don't have to go to the store, which is a relief. I've still got pumpkin in the freezer that I grew last year. Today I'll make a soup out of a frozen chicken carcass and my leftover vegetables. I also have frozen peppers from last year's harvest. I can see that if I put more time into it, I could grow much more of my food. The navel orange, meyer lemon, Algerian tangerine, Ruby red grapefruit, and Hachiya persimmon trees look promising. I will have plenty of fruit for the winter.

[catherine]

Iit's nice to be able to go outside and pick a pomegranate or a Valencia orange if I want a piece of fruit. I don't have to go to the store

Exactly how I feel. And I don't have to wonder if produce I bought has been in my fridge too long.

[JaneV2.0]

Beet greens are powerhouses of potassium--a nutrient reported to be heart- and blood vessel-protective-644 mg per half cup. One source I read estimated we need about 4500 mg of potassium per day.