Garden visit and First Fruits

This post is a long time coming!
Grammy and Pa Joe came to visit for my birthday a few weekends ago. Of course, they wanted to see the famous garden! And they had some cute tour guides.

 Andy had a Field of Dreams moment. 

 Abby... doing something. Being cute, I guess. 

Joe showing off the fruits of his labor. 

Abby showing off her sunflower. 

Here is a picture of Abby with some veggies fresh from the garden!

Joe made 3 batches of jalapeno/ cayenne pepper/ garlic pickled okra using veggies straight from his garden! The only things not from the garden were the vinegar and the salt. Too cool!

Joe's garden

Joe's garden has done wonderfully this season. Joe would probably disagree since he knows all the plants that have thrived or died, but I know what my kitchen counter tells me. We have lots of veggies.
Joe has already pickled okra and canned 2 jars of tomatoes, with more on the counter just waiting. He also told me that he almost has enough okra for another jar. Travis and Kayla have already enjoyed a jar- not pickled. They know that real okra is fried.

One crop that I know Joe has been waiting for finally came in, but not how he expected.



Any guesses as to what these are? Well, due to the recent drought and high temperatures, they are deformed cucumbers! Joe brought them in and just had to laugh. I don't know if he's hoping for more from the same plant or if they are a bust, but I think it's pretty funny!

So, what does one do with deformed cucumbers? Give them to the kids to play with!



Here's Abby using hers as a camera!



Then she realized that it was food of some sort, so she took a big bite. I asked Joe if they had been cleaned, but he seemed unconcerned. He told me that Snoopy never peed on them in the garden, so they were OK. (It's comments like those that make me worry about his judgment in some things)



Andy decided that he wanted to eat his too.
Abby worked on hers the rest of the morning. Andy wasn't impressed, so Abby worked on his too.

If we do get some non-deformed cucumbers this season, I plan on preparing them they way Gommy Bradley used to. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Isaac Goes Shopping for Tomatoes

Hey guys, Joe has taken over the blog because I want to share a quick story with everyone about our trip back from Aunt Boo's Birthday Party.

On our way home, Isaac and I stopped at Lowe's in Kimball, TN because I wanted to get as straight as I could on the way home and not have to back track to any of the ones in Chattanooga. I had to get some more dirt for the garden (Check out www.joehasagarden.blogspot.com). Isaac really likes these trips to Lowe's and Home Depot because he likes to look at the vegetables and tell me all the stuff he wants to put in the garden.

On the way in, I successfully steered Isaac away from the vegetables and into the store. On the way out, I was not so successful. He walked over to the vegetables and proudly proclaimed that this was the garden. He began, as he always does, of looking all them over and telling which ones are which. After he had looked at all of them, I told him it was time to go. He did not want to go, because he wanted to buy some plant to put in the garden and call his (much like his strawberry plant and the pumpkins). The last trip, he wanted Rutger tomatoes. This trip he wanted all sorts of things. He pointed out to the big plants, but I told him if he wanted one he would have to pick something small. He began bringing plants to me and I would tell him that we already had that in the garden. He then brought me some Bradley Heirloom tomatoes. We did not have that.

So I was faced with a dilemma. Break his heart and risk causing a scene, or let him be responsible for his choice. I decided the latter. I gave him $2 and told him to take his tomatoes to the cashier (grandparents, don't worry, I was standing there the whole time watching him). He quickly walked right up to the cashier who was in the middle of a transaction with another customer and shouted, "Hey lady. I want some tomatoes!" Needless to say, I was a little embarrassed, but the cashier and the other patrons thought it was the cutest thing ever. I told Isaac he had to wait his turn behind the others. Isaac did as he was told and clutched the small package of tomatoes and the $2 tightly and quietly waited his turn. The other patrons asked if he was going to plant that in his garden and he answered that he was. He told them he was a farmer.

When it was Isaac's turn, he reached up with his tomatoes and waited while the cashier rang him up. She told him the price and he gave her the two dollars and got the receipt and his change and then put the tomatoes in a bag and walked out. It was simply nice to watch him go through a "Big Boy" transaction. Now if I could only get him to get a "Big Boy" job.

Hope that brings a smile to your face.

Joe

Growing some goodness

I know Joe has his own blog, but I wanted to post some pics of his progress as well. Don't ask me what each plant is, I'm just doing it mostly to show off his cute helpers. Check out Joe's blog at www.joehasagarden.blogspot.com to find out how things are really going.



Abby loves being helpful in the garden. She gets upset when Joe comes home and does not take her outside first thing.



Cheesing for me. You might wonder why the pic is so fuzzy... that is because I am inside taking the pic through the screen in the window. Lazy, I know.



Don't know what it is, but it's pretty!



We had some bees come by the garden, so the flowers are a success!!



I believe all of these sprouts have since been planted, most in the new 6x6 bed. Joe has the lumber ready to build the very last (I hope) bed. It will be a 4x16 and will go beside the 4x4 that he made last year. For all the time and $ that has gone into this venture, we had better see some results!!

Joseph has a little garden...

it is new and green. (like the book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.)




Anyhoo- Joe has a garden and he is very proud of it. Actually, we are all proud of it because he has been working on it for years. This year looks like it is going to be profitable. (well, more so than last year- we got 2 zucchinis, a few cucumbers and a tomato or two) This year, we will have a plethora of healthy, home grown vegetables.



This is the 4x4 vegetable bed that he made last year. In it this year, we have 3 tomato plants, broccoli, and some flowers. The flowers are for pollination purposes. Behind the bed is the compost pile. Joe is very proud of it since a family of worms has decided to take up residence. Worms are a sign of healthy soil, or compost as the case may be.



These are the two 6x6 beds that Joe made just this year. They will have flowers for pollination, also zucchini, okra, pumpkins, corn, lots of tomatoes, basil, and more, but Joe told them to me too fast. The okra is mostly for Kayla, our neighbor. The zucchini is for me, and the pumpkins are for Isaac. They will become his Jack-o-Lanterns this fall.



These have just been transplanted into cups. They were originally in egg cartons. Joe has been meticulous in following these seedling. By next week they should be ready to be planted in their new beds.



There are Isaac's strawberries. He chose the seeds himself, and he has tended them. I never knew he liked strawberries until now. I know he likes them in yogurt. Maybe we'll make our own strawberry yogurt later. (by adding the fruit to vanilla yogurt, I'm not that talented)



This little lady is Daddy's biggest helper. They work in the garden every day when Daddy gets home. Mostly, Joe gives her a shovel and tells her to find worms, or gives her a watering can to water the plants. It doesn't matter the task, she just loves being with Daddy. She also loves chasing Isaac with the worms she finds.

I mentioned earlier that Joe is planting broccoli. I know that shocked you. You probably thought, "Broccoli? Who in that house eats broccoli?" The answer is Abby. She loves it. The broccoli plant is hers and hers alone. Last week, it sprouted a little 'tree' out of the dirt. Joe called her over and said, "Look, Abby. Here's a broccoli for you." After hearing this, Abby came over, snapped the broccoli off the plant and ate it, dirt and all. "Mmmmm, good broccoli Daddy!"
Gross.

My guess is we are going to have too many vegetables to eat ourselves, so I am planning on introducing my students to fresh veggies before the year is over. There is a very good chance we will be sharing with our families too... but only if they come visit!! First come, first served!! :)

Jocelyn neglected to mention that I am keeping a garden notebook on a blog as well. Complete with more pictures. If you are incredibly bored and have nothing better to do than watch stuff grow (literally) then check out www.joehasagarden.blogspot.com It will also be a little more accurate since Jocelyn thinks our daughter eats dirt with her broccoli. She doesn't, she just likes digging for worms.