Last summer my first try at preserving food. This year I hope to have plenty of fresh veggies to can and freeze, and I may even try drying some this year. Every year our garden gets bigger and better, and so do our winter food stores.
But I am a little worried this year. With the temperature soaring past the 100 degree mark for the past week, some of the plants haven't fared well. The tomatoes plants have seriously wilted. Look at those curled up leaves! A zucchini plant just up and died for no other reason than the heat.
And because we are in a drought that has lasted for the past two or three years, we are only allowed to water two days a week, and then only with a spring loaded nozzle. If we follow last year’s pattern, by August we won’t be allowed to water at all. Right now, on watering days I stand with the hose and water all the gardens. It takes about two hours.
On non-watering days, the kids and I fill up bucket after bucket of water and dump it on the smallest or droopiest looking plants. This takes about an hour and a half, even with all of us working together. We call it the Bucket Brigade. When I holler, "It's time for the Bucket Brigade!" the two older kids can be heard eliciting groans (and sometimes a little whining). In the picture below, my daughter Alli is watering one of the raised beds by the fence with a recycled milk jug.
This work is in addition to all the weeding, harvesting, etc. that has to be done every day. Oh, to be able to just set out the sprinkler again!
Still, bringing in those veggies is worth it. To eat something that God's grace and your hard work grew... something that didn't travel any farther to your home than from your back yard.... something that you know was grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers... that was picked ripe off the vine and has the flavor to prove it... that didn't use any oil or gasoline to get to your table...
It's a feeling that can't be beat!
But I am a little worried this year. With the temperature soaring past the 100 degree mark for the past week, some of the plants haven't fared well. The tomatoes plants have seriously wilted. Look at those curled up leaves! A zucchini plant just up and died for no other reason than the heat.
And because we are in a drought that has lasted for the past two or three years, we are only allowed to water two days a week, and then only with a spring loaded nozzle. If we follow last year’s pattern, by August we won’t be allowed to water at all. Right now, on watering days I stand with the hose and water all the gardens. It takes about two hours.
On non-watering days, the kids and I fill up bucket after bucket of water and dump it on the smallest or droopiest looking plants. This takes about an hour and a half, even with all of us working together. We call it the Bucket Brigade. When I holler, "It's time for the Bucket Brigade!" the two older kids can be heard eliciting groans (and sometimes a little whining). In the picture below, my daughter Alli is watering one of the raised beds by the fence with a recycled milk jug.
This work is in addition to all the weeding, harvesting, etc. that has to be done every day. Oh, to be able to just set out the sprinkler again!
Still, bringing in those veggies is worth it. To eat something that God's grace and your hard work grew... something that didn't travel any farther to your home than from your back yard.... something that you know was grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers... that was picked ripe off the vine and has the flavor to prove it... that didn't use any oil or gasoline to get to your table...
It's a feeling that can't be beat!
1 comment:
Hi Barb,
Thanks for the visit and the tip about the diatomaceous earth. I hope it works for you. Seems like a good idea.
Love you blog and I'll be checking in to see what's up in your world.
Deb
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