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.

Perfect growing weather

I keep reading that the hot, rainy, and muggy Wisconsin summer is going to lead to a whopper of a corn and soybean harvest. They never mention food crops in these articles, but if eating local is a goal, this particular August would be a great time to take up the challenge. The past couple of weeks we have taken in a haul from the urban farm: tomatoes, okra, tomatillos, summer squash, cucumbers, onions, and peppers. The summer veggies are in full swing!

It looks like we should harvest at least 100 pounds of tomatoes this year (I'm keeping track so we'll see how close we get).

It's also a great time of year to buy local. This week I've found delicious organic sweet corn, honey, raw cheese, and beer.

Who says you need GMO Bt corn to have nice looking ears?

I love shopping at the local Willy Street Co-Op, but I do sometimes wander into Costco and find local foods in giant quantities at decent prices.

We have a rule to eat at least one of our urban farm raised vegetables with each meal (bonus if you eat two or more). But we have plenty of extras. I give some away when I see neighbors out in their yards, and I've been freezing and canning so we can continue to eat local all winter.

I learned this year that it is unsafe to can squash (my original plan). Good thing it freezes well!

Looking forward to making enchiladas with this tomatillo sauce.

And someday soon we'll have our own local, zero food mile eggs.

This pullet is looking warm!

Now I need to start thinking about planting fall crops...

Just like spring, so you have another chance to learn from mistakes and try new varieties.