Mornings in the Kitchen

Mornings in the kitchen have replaced mornings in the garden this August and September. Not every morning, but enough to make me long for that sweet spot on the bench by the berm.

Well, it can’t be helped. The garden produce is ripe and must be canned, frozen, dehydrated or fermented. I do so with a thankful heart. There’s nothing more lovely than pantry shelves that display the ultimate results of my hard work.

Sometimes I trace the beginnings of the fruit or vegetable I am processing: the saved seed, its first contact with soil and its miraculous germination, the moment when it first pokes its tiny head above ground. I remember how it leaned towards the light streaming through the sun porch’s wide widows. It must been the largest and healthiest to have escaped the several thinnings and cullings.

The bedding plant stretches itself further as it is transferred to a bigger pot and then, about the time the tulips bloom, to the potting shed.

Sometime in late May or early June, it is moved to the garden, where it is dropped into a composted hole or trench. It may have felt the weight of a fabric cover if frost was expected. Finally, it grows out of its babyhood and becomes largely self sufficient, competing with other plants for water, nutrients and light.

The growing plant feels the weight of my footsteps and the sound of the hoe and of course, my voice as I exclaim how beautiful it is. Some of these developing plants are staked and/or tied to further facilitate the eventual harvest. Some of this harvest is from seeds direct sowed into the garden plot.

The garden plot has expanded itself into so-called flower beds. A dozen or so years ago, I began to restructure my belief paradigm about where plants should grow. The truth is, they should grow wherever there is room and they’re happy. A baby tomatillo had no space when it came time to plant it, so its home has been in the new strawberry bed.

It remains to be seen what has transpired underneath its gargantuan limbs full of hanging fruit. I’m sure the strawberry plants will recover in the spring.

Many herb plants such as feverfew, cilantro and chamomile grow proudly in my cottage garden, with passersby none the wiser. Chives and fragrant basil and thyme have escaped the formal vegetable garden and may be found in divers places. Aji Dulce peppers grow in pots to be overwintered in the house, as does the Medusa ornamental.

Ripening Medusa Peppers

Who knew peppers could survive in a window sill only to be set out in the spring for another season of production?

Aji Dulce in the house in November 2012

 Same Aji Dulce in the garden August 2013

Rosemary and lavender have also flourished in their pots and are natural home air fresheners.

Soon all the pots will come in the house, which is a task I dread. A few tropicals have gotten so big they are permanent fixtures, destined to never move again. 

Our Live Christmas Tree

Sometimes I complain about the care these suddenly-indoor plants require. The truth is I generally enjoy picking off dead leaves and watering these guys. I can have a little taste of summer even as I watch the snow fly outside the windows. All those mornings in the kitchen and the garden will be appreciated as, instead of eating supermarket garbage, we eat the superb food I have grown and preserved with my own hands.