Still Learning

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow.

Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Mahatma Gandhi

One regret I have is that I didn't learn more about gardening earlier. On the farm, we focused on building healthy soil in the fields, by taking the time to spread our nutrients (pig manure) evenly on both farms. It was a lot of extra work, time and money, to transport and spread it, but we felt it was worth it. We embraced "No Till" tillage planting in the spring and the straw from our barley crop was always tilled into the soil, not baled and sold.

When we moved here 20 years ago, we started gardening more seriously. We had time. Over the years, we have spread mushroom compost, straw, wood ashes, cow manure and our own compost over the gardens yearly. Some years one, some years, another. Always ashes. Just in the last few years, we have noticed the benefits of 20 years of those soil improvements. One noticeable benefit is that it takes much less time to hoe the garden for weeds because the soil is so loose.

Yesterday was chum-picking day. In 2017, we planted some cherry-plum crosses called chums. We bought them from Whiffletree Farm, near Elora. Two varieties are bearing well this year for the first time. Another reason for embracing gardening when you are young.

Below is what I picked from the Mustang and Sapalta trees. Two trees. A lot of chums.

When pitting them, I was worried about worms. Last year, those same two trees bore a few dozen fruit, most of which had worms in the centre. This spring, Ted sprayed the trees with dormant oil spray and it seems to have worked. Only about 5 or 6 chums with worms!!! Maybe we are just lucky this year, maybe the oil worked. We'll see what happens next year when we do the same.

I froze two baking trays of split chums for winter enjoyment.

Asian plum sauce was made with some. And, wow! It tastes good on this year's melons. Our mid-morning healthy snack.

I've been saving a NYT plum torte recipe for this very day. Sigh. It was sprinkled with lime juice and white sugar just before baking.

The chums are sharing their glory today with some other vegetables. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this red pepper in the garden. It was somewhat hidden by other vegetables, but still managed to grow to 7 ½" high. Almost as big as a small Napa cabbage. I've been wanting to try a stuffed pepper recipe that includes cabbage. Perfect day for that experiment.

Last year, we were contemplating not growing garlic any more. We'd had problems with tiny worms burrowing their way into the bottom of the bulbs. Some where, in Ted's nightly internet research, he learned that he had been watering them too much. We decided to try again this year.

I am so glad that we didn't give up on the garlics. Less watering, less rain and they did very well. The one below has not been selected to plant this fall.... the ones we selected for planting were BIGGER!!! Seven cloves bursting with garlicky goodness.

I love this time of year. The gardens are bursting with bounty. I feel like a chef who can go into a garden and choose fresh ingredients. The not-so-even-sized peppers made for a variety of stuffed pepper servings. We split one of the big ones for lunch.

And, there are still more chums ripening for tomorrow's culinary adventure.

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

Confucius