It's Food Time!

The little girl is walking along our "Lemon Grass Fence." Tea from this grass is very popular medicinally in our region.

These photos were taken yesterday and today to give a general idea of where we're at with the garden. The house photos were taken last night as a storm approached, and the close-ups this morning after it had passed. Over the past 48 hours, we've overwhelmed the rain gauge with two extreme storms, but the erosion control is working like a charm. I haven't watered the garden now for several weeks.

The garden has been receiving a lot of attention as the plants near maturity. Right now we're eating two kinds of lettuce, cucumber, peas, and radish. It's been amazing to see what is possible with a small piece of land.

In the background is the weather that had us with pillows over heads for two hours in the middle of the night trying to sleep through the "gentle, relaxing sound of rain on a tin roof." It may be the loudest rain we've experienced.

The cucumbers are nearing harvest size.

Largest fruit at 50 days. We'll be letting the rest grow larger.

Cabbage heads are beginning to form.

We'll have about 50 heads of cabbage coming in this month, which won't be enough for sale in Las Lomitas. These people love their cabbage.

Peas down here are commonly used in tamales, but we're using them more in soup. This variety is "Early Alaska." We'll be drying many of them to distribute for growth at community homes.

The folks here are used to peas that are harvested from a medium sized tree, not the vining type we're using. So they've been fairly shocked to see us picking them in as few as five weeks.

Our chosen variety of green bean is a low bushing type. It's been bothered somewhat by a beetle that likes the leaves, but nothing that's required intervention. Again, the folks are fascinated by this variety. The plants appear nearly identical to their beloved black beans. Due to high interest, we'll also harvest a significant amount of these beans for seed stock.

The striking colors of beet leaves draw a lot of interest. No one in this area knows of anyone successfully growing beets, but are very excited about the possibility. Our cooler (relatively) climate helps them form successfully.

We now have several beets nearing tennis ball size and will begin to harvest the largest ones of the coming week for personal use and sale.

Ancient grandma heard that we are growing garlic and brought me a head of "Indian Garlic" to grow; it is likely a wild variety here.  It was very small, with a very strong smell, we'll see how it does. It seems to be handling our wet weather better than the "regular" garlic.

Large heads of romaine lettuce are our most exciting success. We've also harvested a good deal of "Buttercrunch" and are letting it bolt right now for the seeds.

Damos gracias a Dios por: El milagro que es comida que viene de la tierra. (We give thanks for God for the miracle of food that pops out off the dirt.