Gardening

I barely made it to Monticello’s Market on the Square last Saturday. I stopped by and got a cantaloupe just before 2 p.m., when the market is slated to close. I had a lazy morning, and Jimmy and I rode up to Pony Express (which was closed) and Mansfield Marketplace before I headed to town. I’m sure there was some produce available…probably more than the previous couple of weeks.

I’m sure I’ll make it up this Saturday…cause it’s a wonderful place to go. I see people and visit, and get fresh produce, a good, sweet fried pie from Mrs. Howard, and whatever else strikes my fancy. But this Saturday, Jimmy may come too…not with me to visit and shop, but as a vendor. You see, he loves to make pickles, and some who have tried them really like them. He also loves zucchini, so he grows aplenty. A few years ago we decided against freezing it was it loses so much quality. So we eat our fill, then do without the rest of the year. But this year may be different. We may try freezing again…we can use it in all the many squash casserole recipes there are.

You ask why we have so much. Well, like I said, Jimmy really likes zucchini, and he’s retired. So he has plenty of time to play in the garden. Every other day it seems, Jimmy comes in and admits…I planted more ___ today. You can fill in the blank. It’s one of two things….zucchini or cucumbers. Over the weekend, as his cucumbers started coming in, he said he would make a batch of pickles Monday. Well, he did. And, he didn’t use all the cucumbers he had picked, so you can bet he’ll make another batch before the week is out.

Jimmy’s pickles, like the famous Claussen, have to be kept refrigerated. I warned him recently that he really should clean out the fridge in preparation.

Guess who cleaned out the fridge Saturday? No, it wasn’t the pickle man.

Now, that’s not all we have in the garden. He planted a few tomatoes for me. You see, I love a home-grown tomato, and it’s nothing for me to slice more than one for supper (and it’s just the two of us). I’ll fill up gladly on tomatoes. He gets tired of me fussing for tomatoes. This year he said he was only planting nine tomato plants. Well, that’s what he started with.

But, he added to it, and I look forward to eating my fill. And we will freeze what we can’t eat and use them in soups, stews, spaghetti and the like all year long.

I asked Jimmy what he was going to do with all the squash, and encouraged him to take it to the market, but I’m afraid everybody may have squash this week when Jimmy does. But, maybe there will be a lot of people who do not grow their own that will take a few off his hands.

Jimmy has a lot of fun with the garden. He seeks advice from friends and other farmers, and naturally, also confers with google and plant experts found online.

And, that’s where he found what he needed last week….deer repellent. Yes, Jimmy loves to deer hunt, and likes having deer on the property. But this year, when they started eating his garden, he got serious. He has now covered in mesh the blueberries and some of the cucumbers, and has sprayed repellent wherever he is concerned about the deer eating.

He was so funny when he came in the other morning when he learned the need for the repellent. He had checked his plants, and saw that something had been nibbling on them.

Meanwhile, he saw a big doe right out the front door, munching on the uncut grass. He loved seeing her, and wants to keep her around, but prefers she eat the corn he puts out, or the vegetables he plants for them and stays out of his garden. I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, I’ll just keep saying that summertime saying, “How do you want your squash tonight?”