After a long wait, an update...

My apologies to anyone who has been waiting for an update for this blog.  It has been a few weeks since my last post, and with summer in full swing I realized that I just couldn't put it off any longer.

I was particularly inspired by a photo that was passed on to me by the registrar (Gretel) of one of our gardeners showing off his fresh batch of strawberry jam.

Paul Nason's strawberry jam.  Paul is a gardener at University Houses.

The strawberry harvest is long over, and now the raspberries are making their appearance across the gardens.  I harvested raspberries from my own plot for the first time this year last Sunday; they made an excellent sauce for dessert crepes later that night.

I hope that your gardens are all doing very well.  As Gretel reminds us in her emails, the hot weather is doing wonders for our summer crops.  I have harvested around ten zucchini so far, with a commitment to not let any summer squash grow into monsters.  A more apt description may be baseball bats.  As the season progresses, please keep in mind that many vegetables are better harvested when they are still small--summer squash, eggplant--and that flavor and texture can be lost when the fruit is allowed to mature.  Green tomatoes are popping up everywhere, and some plots are already featuring ripe red cherry tomatoes.  The few gardeners growing corn already are hand-pollinating, and my own broomcorn is taller than I am.  If you would like to have your summer vegetable wealth featured in the blog, please email ehcgarden@gmail.com with your photos!

Now is the time to plant a late crop of snap beans if you have any room left; the adventurous among us have even begun sowing fall crops from seed.  I harvested my garlic this past weekend, and in its place have planted broccoli, spinach, arugula, carrots, and beets.  I tend to plant my crops a little earlier than everyone else, but for me the gamble is just insurance for the harvest.  If my carrots turn out wimpy in the hot weather, I'll simply replant in two weeks and hope for the best.

Remember to keep your gardens well-harvested.  Fruits and vegetables left overripe in the garden tend to attract pests, including rodents, birds, insects, and decomposers.  It is also a little sad to walk through the gardens and see beautiful tomatoes going to waste.  If you have trouble keeping up with the summer's bounty, please share the wealth by depositing extra produce in the donation bins by the tool shed.  These are collected on Wednesday and Saturday mornings to be distributed by the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry.

I will write another post this weekend after taking a few photos of the summer bounty around the garden.  Enjoy your week, and remember to wear sunscreen and keep hydrated while you work in the gardens.