My Personal Farmer's Market

This is a busy time of year for anyone that has a vegetable garden. The picture above is one day of harvesting, and we're harvesting every day. And we're just getting started!

Of course the start of the summer season also means the end of some of my favorite spring friends- like the artichoke you see above. They are past their prime and entering their bloom season. Another week or so and I'll be cutting them back after the bee's get their fill of pollen, and my neighbors are done taking pictures of them. (yeah- really weird to come home and see people in my front yard taking pictures of my artichokes)

Some late comers to the summer season would be my melons. We had a wet spring, and I had to put them in the ground a lot later than I normally would have. This is a baby Tigger melon, grown from seed that I got from my friend Julia. Tigger's are nice, softball sized melons that are perfect for individual servings. They are orange with yellow stripes, and are sometimes available at the farmer's market here in Sacramento.

I also haven't harvested any cucumbers yet this year. I came close, but something took my first one (not sure if it was a neighbor or an animal!). I usually just grow Armenian cucumbers- which are actually Asian melons. Depending on the variety they can range from white to dark green, and can grow up to 3 feet long if you let them (which I have! Only because I didn't know it was there!). Typically I pick mine when they are about 18 inches long.

Here's what I AM picking- squash! The one pictured above is just your standard zucchini, and the single plant we have of it has already produced about 10 zucchini's. We also have various scalloped squash- the ones that look like little space ships. Depending on the variety ours range from light green (like Peter Pan or Bennings), dark green (like Starship), or yellow and green (like Sunburst).

We're also getting bell peppers, such as the Lilac bell peppers above....
The green ones are also making an appearance....

As are the Tequila sweet peppers.....

We're also starting to see the appearance of some of our fall/winter harvest- like this Uchiki Kuri squash. This is a nice reminder that I need to start my seeds for the fall garden......