Victory (for us) and a country tradition

I count it as a victory that Anna and I have been able to harvest and eat some of each of the things we planted. We have enjoyed fresh spinach, beets, peas, beans, asparagus, rhubarb and lately sweet corn and tomatoes. Since we are first time gardeners this has been a valuable learning experience for us. In general we need to leave more room for growth for all of our plants next time. There isn't a part of the garden that doesn't look crowded, but chalk that up to our novice status. Next time we plant a garden look out! It will be even more productive.

What I also learned, in growing this garden, is that it is a country tradition to share what you grow. Other people have brought us their fresh vegetables as well, so we have enjoyed fresh broccoli, cucumbers and potatoes from our neighbors. They have also brought us sweet corn, which is good because ours didn't turn out so well, and beans. We have a plethora of beans now because I only planted two rows of beans, but apparently this was a good year for string beans because we have eaten so many that when I picked some this afternoon Anna's reaction was, "Gee, I wonder if our neighbor Kathy could use some beans." This exchange netted some more potatoes, which is good because we were out of those having served the last of them last Saturday for a meal shared with some other friends. You see how this works now, don't you? I give you what I have plenty of and you take it whether you need it or not. You pass along some of your extra stuff, either giving it to me or taking your extra, or even what I just gave you and you don't really want but took anyway to be polite, to someone else, and if they are a gardener, the process repeats until someone gets stuff who either isn't a gardener or whose stuff isn't ready yet. It's the country way; share your extra because you can't use it and perhaps someone else can. It is a nice way to stimulate the small-town economy. Blogged by Don