Another beautiful sunny day today!
We are just beginning to adjust to shift work again, I am getting at least 5 hours of sleep every night, and so grateful for that. Our routines are settling in, we are getting this all figured out. Attila says he heard a rumor that he is to go back to his old job, which was working days. Who knows. Constant change is the norm now. We will have to adjust to whatever they decide to do to our schedule.
Yesterday Attila planted many of the plants, that he started from seed in his cold frame, and in the little green house. This is so exciting! We haven’t ventured in to a nursery to buy bedding plants this year, except two Veestar strawberry plants and a horseradish plant delivered to the vehicle. The strawberry plants were weakened when rabbits nibbled away all of the leaves on one of them, and some of the leaves on the other. They were promptly transplanted inside the fence, where they have survived, thank goodness, they were $4 each! I am hoping to eventually get runners from them, to establish a large bed of strawberries.
This spring we are relying almost entirely on the seeds Attila started. This is the first time he has attempted to create a whole garden from seeds. I have my fingers crossed, but gardens are hit and miss no matter how they are created, so we get what we get.
This morning Attila thinned the Swiss Chard and the Spinach, and guess who got the greens! I sauteed them in olive oil, with a sprinkle of freshly ground pepper, then added an egg. My whole body tingled with gratitude with each mouthful, it was a wonderful breakfast. I haven’t had fresh greens since February, when we stopped going to the grocery store, so this spring the Spinach and Swiss Chard out of the garden are a real treat.
We have been eating up every morsel we get out of the garden. So far it has given us about 4 pounds of rhubarb, which was made into Rhubarb Squares and Upside Down Rhubarb Cake, and about 1 1/2 cups went into the freezer. There is more rhubarb to come, it is difficult to wait for it! Now I’ve been spoiled with fresh Spinach and Swiss Chard, and will be waiting somewhat impatiently for the plants to mature so that I can harvest more.
I’ve been thinking about strawberries, and am concerned I may not be able to get any this spring. We are accustomed to taking our containers to a nearby farm and picking our own. However, the people around us are not taking social distancing as seriously as I would prefer, so I am loath to venture into the fields with a crowd of recreational fruit pickers. I haven’t found a source yet, and I suppose we will have to pay a premium price if I do find one. The government is giving seniors on the small government pension a one-time amount of money to help us manage with the extra expenses encountered while self-isolating during the pandemic, I know what I will use mine for… fresh food if I can find it!
Worldly
Weather
18°C
Date: 1:00 PM EDT Monday 8 June 2020
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.9 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 17.5°C
Dew point: 9.6°C
Humidity: 59%
Wind: S 18 km/h
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“Maybe you are searching among the branches for what only appears in the roots.”
Rumi
1207 – 1273
Your photos make me hungry for fresh food 🙂
Do any of your local farms have pre-picked strawberries in containers that you could get curb side? There’s only one local farm I go to and they built a little shop where they have fruits and veggies packaged and for sale. Most people go out into the fields to pick their own.
Have a wonderful day!!
Sandy, I hear you, I certainly enjoyed that Spinach and Swiss Chard!
There is one establishment at some distance from us, about $30 for gas, that is selling liters of strawberries in their store, so we would have to go in, not good for us. Also, they don’t take pre-orders so you have to drive all the way out there to see if they have strawberries in the store, and then they limit quantities, so I might not be able to get enough to do my canning, after all that travel and risk. It just won’t work. And then there is price, wow. If you pick your own, the price is $3 a liter or $12 for 4 liters. If you drive there to pick up strawberries the price is $5.50 a liter, to be purchased only in quantities of 4 liters for $22. I guess it doesn’t sound like a big difference, but we took quite a hit financially when Attila was laid off work, so I have to consider that we will have to do without strawberries until the pandemic is over, however much I do not want to.
Have a wonderful day Sandy!
Wow, that sounds so inconvenient and expensive just to get strawberries or anything fresh green! I’m glad you at least can enjoy the chard!
Joan, we were out of step with consumer habits before the pandemic, by buying mostly in season and preserving our own food, and now we are really swimming upstream! I try to buy local, but the local producers just aren’t going to make any provisions for people who need to self-isolate, so despite wanting to shop local, I think we are going to need to rely on products we can access, which are not local. I can see we are going to have a few very challenging years until we are released from this pandemic situation!
I did enjoy the chard and spinach, so very much! There is more out there in the garden, it is doing well. Today I spent an hour or so weeding it, cheering it on!