After only one week away...

As the days of summer get shorter but warmer, after only a week away from the urban farm I came home to a jungle of tomato plants, huge and heavy with long-awaited ripening fruits. The sunflowers had shot up well over my head, and even with daily inspections from my family, a couple of zucchini squash got away and became sizable clubs, perfect for shredding up and baking into chocolate chip zucchini muffins. It's also time to start canning. This year, Italian peppers are the first to go into the boiling water. I look forward to mixing them with olive oil and scooping it all up with a local baguette this winter.

There should be a walkway in the middle!

The mess is worth it for the great veggies this time of year.

Peppers and carrots + garlic and spices + vinegar and olive oil = love!

Knowing I will eat food in the winter that I put away myself helps me look forward to the cold months ahead.

Growing for pleasure

I've written a lot about urban farming for food and self-sustainability and using organic and sustainable practices for the environment and health. One thing I don't write about much is the pure joy of growing plants and eating the produce. This weekend I had the opportunity to host a church group for a tour of our plots, and it gave me great pleasure to walk with friends among the green plants, to have samples of vegetables to eat, and to see small children pulling carrots and beets right out of the ground, washing those beautiful carrots with the hose and and eating them still warm from the sun. It made my heart happy to share stories, both bragging about our successes and commiserating about droughts, June bugs, and hungry bunnies. So if you decide to grow your own food, I'd put pleasure at the top of the list of reasons why.

The first cherry tomatoes are ripe this week, the earliest being the orange hybrid variety 'Sun Gold'.

Green beans are in season. This variety is called 'Provider'.

Raspberries grow very well in our local soil that is not acidic enough for blueberries. We always have plenty to eat fresh and freeze for the rest of the year.

Cut flowers are in bloom!

We have squash now, tomatoes, peppers, and garlic very soon, and eggplant after that. Almost ratatouille time!

Thinking ahead to next year

It's hard to admit, but I've been in a blog funk. While not writing, I have been mulling over my thoughts about urban farming and trying to articulate the reasons I've been going through some changes. 

For me, the number one reason to grow food is to feed my family and share with friends. This year I ventured into farmers' market sales and found that with the three yards I farm, I didn't have enough produce left over to share and enjoy (there's nothing worse as a vegetable grower than having to buy lettuce because you sold all of your crop!).

Freshly dug carrots are like candy!

This left me with two options-- buy/rent additional land for next year or continue to grow only in town and say goodbye to the marketing side of the urban farm.

Although the idea of moving to the country or leasing land is temping and there would definitely be benefits, I have decided to stay in town and grow for the pleasure of feeding the ones I love. I'm thankful that our family is in a position for me to be able to make this choice.

Small, city-yard sized garden plots can grow a lot of food-- enough for summer family meals, freezing, canning, and sharing!

So I am going to get back on the blog horse so that I can put my thoughts and photos out into the world and hopefully get some new ideas from those who enjoy urban farming as much as I do!

Urban Farm Update

The year has been somewhat chilly and very wet. We really need some hot, dry weather to push our summer crops along. That said, we've been enjoying the cool weather garlic scapes, carrots, kale, lettuce, kohlrabi, and we just finished the peas!

And raspberry season has only just begun!