Corn Again

There is a reward for the late farmer...corn in September/October. Holding down the home front here, surrounded by the next rounds of fresh corn. Got two beds of hybrid--the short stuff in the bed nearest the Brown House (try this one first) and in the middle bed (wait a week or so). A final bed of Silver Queen is over by the street and won't be ready for a couple weeks. The corn-based agricultural economy in Berkeley! (Apologies to Michael Pollan)

Late Summer Farmer vows to change...

Of all the secret gardens, the late garden inspires...faith that the seasons here on the coast just go on and on...every year I vow to plant earlier and every year the seasons (lack thereof--Nico?) conspire to fool me into waiting just a little too long...but the squash and beans just loved this hot spell...they are really coming on. Start picking beans along the path...squash are "available"...remember "friends help friends eat zuchinni..." So come by and pick! You know Jesse was here this weekend and the cooking lasted late--almost til midnite with the brule flamethrower...what a feast!

'cots...

every year's different, wet and windy semi-pollination or sublimely sunny tree takes off...this year was a strange mix, two different sets of fruit--early/late/high/low/front/back, but we've got'm, they're in! i love apricots...as a boy sitting in a tree, fruit and juice spilling down my front...plus added bonus the apricot as a projectile...what fun! the origin of our famous house "no throwing fruit" rules...can't let the kids had that fun we had...well come on over and borrow the ladder, over the next couple weeks...have your own apricot fun...farmer bill

Farmer Bill Goes to New York City...dreams of broccoli

Sometimes when a farmer goes to the big city all he can do is dream about what needs to be harvested back home.  I scrubbed all the dirt from under my nails, but I can't get the thought all that broccoli out of my mind.  So friends, before you run off to the beach...please go by the farm and pick some of the amazing broccoli in the first bed by the gate.  The youngest member is home and in charge of watering...tiptoe in so you don't wake him up before noon...hah!  See you soon, farmer bill and the mrs.

Kitchen garden tales...

It's all worth it when you can go out and pick your dinner...so let's not let this bounty go to waste...we need cooks and pickers for--radishes, lettuce, parsley, cilantro, beet greens...all in the raised beds by the gate and in the center of the garden...come on out!

Delicate climber makes rare appearance...

These won't last, so come on out and pick a few just to munch in the garden...or a handful like we had in a stir-fry last week. Blanch first and toss'm in...or fabulous in a salad. They're in at the trellis area in the corner of the garden...spring is here!

All 'choked up...

It's a spring coast garden, artichokes, the bounty of our bay are here...get'm while they're still young. Don't be squemish about a few ants--soak first, with a couple of rinses to get clean'm up before cooking.