The Mid-Summer Bounty

When I am able to walk into our garden and pull all of these vegetables out of it, I am reminded both how much I love summer and how our hard work pays off. I'm not sure there's anything as gratifying as starting these vegetables from seed, patiently watching them grow, partaking in daily weeding and watering, and then including something that we harvest in every meal.

Maintaining an organic vegetable garden is perhaps a bit more work and expense but knowing that the vegetables we grow were started from organic (often heirloom) seeds planted in an organic topsoil/compost mix, and sprayed with an organic pesticide when necessary heightens the whole experience for me.

I can't say enough about Seed Savers, where we order our seeds from every winter. Call me a gardening geek but when I am buried in February snow, there is something so day-brightening about receiving the spring catalog in the mail and selecting what we will grow.

Pictured above, clockwise from the top is Black Beauty Zucchini, Fin de Bagnol Green Beans, Green Arrow Peas, Wenk's Yellow Hot Pepper, Jaune et Verte Pattypan Squash, Boothby's Blonde Cucumber, Pencil Pod Golden Wax Bean, Borettana Yellow Onion, Red Florence Onion, Chiogga Beets, and Dragon Carrot with a sprig of Purple Dark Opal Basil.