Tis the season of first
As the season grows along, each week we anticipate the first harvest of this or that. These last two weeks we harvested “firsts” of blueberries, peaches, beans, peppers, zucchini squash, tomatoes.
It’s a wonderful experience to sit down to a meal with “the first” beans or blueberries of the season after such a long awaited absence – and to know they were only grown but a few feet away from the dinner table! Even better when you share your table with others and can’t help but proudly point out that they are eating “the first” of something.
Eating fresh within the seasons gives one a connection/awareness and appreciation of one’s food source. Knowing a certain growing season is fleeting makes one truly appreciate homegrown from the good earth. As urban farmers and urban homesteaders we have learned a valuable lesson. We, through such growing experience, realize that we are on nature’s time – not man’s frenzied 24/7/365.
There’s a season….
Today we are going to have our very first dish with homegrown green beans… I can’t wait. Not that I’m drooling but it’s pretty darn close.
What “firsts” are you taking (or anticipating) your first bite?
No Comments
Deidre in Southeast Louisiana says:
May 28, 2008 at 6:57 amWe have been eating wonderful pole beans, bush beans, zuchinni, yellow squash, swiss chard, new zealand spinach. chinese noodle beans and cucumbers. Anticipating many heirloom tomatoes, potatoes, limas,peas, acorn and delicata squash and many other goodies…yummm!!!
Ken Kunst says:
May 28, 2008 at 7:01 amOooh, those green beans look delicious! I’m jealous, I won’t be harvesting beans for a while…but we have been enjoying snap and snow peas with our “firsts” little yellow squashes…and I’m starting to bring in the first of my potatoes…they are so tasty…oh, and some early garlic and onions too…I’m so proud of the fact that I saved seed from last year’s snap peas, and the yellow squash seed was from last summer too. Eating what you grow is the richest kind of living, and saving seed is even more empowering…it all goes together in the cycles of Life.
mary says:
May 28, 2008 at 7:04 amRASPBERRIES! We are waiting as the raspberries are blushing pink – any day now we’ll have our first ripe berries of the season. We’ve been eating freezing our strawberries for a few weeks – and now those are slowing down. We’ll have a few ‘no berry days’ as we move from strawberry season to raspberry season. CAN’T WAIT!
amy says:
May 28, 2008 at 7:25 amStrawberries! We have two beds of them and they are tiny buds of green right now. Can’t wait!
Devin Quince says:
May 28, 2008 at 8:02 amWe have harvested a few small salads from our greens bed along with some of our edible flowers. We are starting see the first of our strawberries and are awaiting those with a watering mouth.
Namaste
Jan says:
May 28, 2008 at 8:09 amWOndeful harvest!!!
I am awaiting on the peaches, radishes and of course beans and tomatoes!! I long for ht efirst bite every season of homegrown food!
derek says:
May 28, 2008 at 8:15 amRaspberries, boysenberries, and a few tiny marionberries. I’ve been trying to grow marionberries for three years now, I think it’s time to give up- they don’t seem to grow in coastal SoCal.
Anne says:
May 28, 2008 at 8:45 amWe have been eating our first homegrown strawberries this week (not our own, alas, but given to us by a friend). We have gotten strawberries planted this month, and are really looking forward to harvesting our own next year!
Lucy says:
May 28, 2008 at 9:03 amBeen enjoying salads, kale, chard, peas. Just had my first carrot EVER! (been trying to grow them for years!), and my first garlic of the season. Looking forward to beans, squash, tomatoes!
TJ Ferreira says:
May 28, 2008 at 9:08 amI wish we could get some beans to sprout. Wife and I started our small 10×10 garden back in April when we thought frost was over but then got zapped by a cold spell and most all that died. 11 corn plants and a couple zuchs made it. So, I planted some beans again a couple weeks ago. In the ground. Still have not come up. Of course she is a little cooler this whole week but. Maybe I should have started indoors. Oh well. The 1st thing we may get are radish in 3 weeks or so. Time will tell. tj
Shegazelle says:
May 28, 2008 at 9:10 amI’m excitedly watching our tiny green tomatoes, waiting for them to turn plump and red. No better tomatoes than those from your own back yard. We even have some at the office!
I should also have some yellow crookneck squash soon. For now though, I have to buy at the local farmer’s market.
Yum!
Janice K says:
May 28, 2008 at 10:00 amBell Peppers and Bok Choi. We had an over-wintered Bell Pepper, so I transplanted it to a new part of the garden It was the first to flower out of the other peppers which were started from bought plants. This fall I will save these seeds
Laurie says:
May 28, 2008 at 10:55 amThe most exciting and tasty harvest at our home is Rhubarb! Spinach, peas, greens – all are struggling along. It has been so cold here, many plants are just barely keeping alive, not growing. Seeds have sprouted for most everything, but with nighttime temps in the 40s they have stalled. I guess we are all waiting for summer….
Susan says:
May 28, 2008 at 11:42 amI have no garden but I always look forward to seeing the first cherries in the farmer’s market. =) They are so wonderful, and the fact that they are only in season briefly makes them even more special. They are so much better at the farmer’s market, and come earlier, that I often don’t bother with the cherries at the supermarket.
Kara says:
May 28, 2008 at 11:45 amLove your website! It’s so inspiring. In Sacramento we’re working on a neighborhood crop swap. We started a blog “Oak Park Crop Swap” feel free to check it out! Veggie trading starts in July!
Our “Firsts” this week we had 2 ripe tomatoes and about 10 ripe huckleberries!
Di says:
May 28, 2008 at 11:47 amThose look delicious!!!
I’m looking forward to actually getting, harvesting and tasting ANYTHING from my garden this year. It’s my first year trying to do something sustainable with the garden and I’m having so much fun and enjoyment from gardening. From the planning, to planting I enjoy it all.
Oh and I saved my first seed! California Poppy seeds (non edible flowers) but I did it! A first for me!
Leslie-La Mama Naturale says:
May 28, 2008 at 1:21 pmAwaiting for the first tomatoes and strawberries! Our green beans are going to be awhile. We’re a little behind this year. Better late than never…
My husband and I are totally inspired by this blog and everything your family is doing. We do a garden every year but this year it has more meaning because we’ve welcomed our son! We’re so motivated that we’re in hopes of starting a local co-op! I’ve blogged about your site and homestead for today’s post. Thanks!!!! 🙂
Tracy says:
May 28, 2008 at 1:32 pmHere in Kansas, we are a long way from having beans ready yet, although most of the garden is up and looking good.
We have been enjoying lots of spinach and salad greens; and our strawberries are very heavily loaded — just a few more days away from being ripe!
We’ve had an extremely wet May so far – 11.5 inches of rain for the month, with 2.5 of that coming this past Monday evening. But the garden loves it.
Debbie says:
May 28, 2008 at 4:20 pmI am heading out to pick the first of the zucchini for tonight’s dinner, which will also include garden Swiss chard and a mixed greens garden salad. The apricot and peach trees are heavy with fruit…probably one more month! What a great time of year.
Joyce says:
May 28, 2008 at 4:24 pmIn my part of zone 3, we had a late snowfall and coldsnap that set everything back 2 weeks. So I’m still waiting for rhubarb…which is SO tantalizingly close, but not quite there yet. I hope by the weekend.
Those beans look so yummy. They won’t be on here for about another month.
kory says:
May 28, 2008 at 7:38 pmlettuce! Just had the first of it yesterday, its the first of the season, my first time growing it, and the first time we’ve had anything from the garden before july!
Lisa says:
May 29, 2008 at 4:57 amThis is the first year that I have done more than a few tomato plants and a potato cage. We have been feasting on different lettuces for some months now. Our radishes are done and our mustard greens bolted due to the unexpected heat wave. But we had our first snow peas and a couple of strawberries yesterday. Yum!
I am always amazed with how relaxed I feel after working in my garden!
David says:
May 29, 2008 at 7:45 pmW/ a little butter those beautiful cultivated green beans are soooo flavourful :p.
Been harvesting few foot long zucchini’s, scallions, red/yellow onions, fennel, red beets, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, green garlic chives, chinese cabbage, leaf lettuce tango, sequoia strawberries, sunflower seeds, garlic, nasturtiums, raddishes, basil, thyme, rosemary, peppermint, turnips, red swiss chard & more scallions.
Have some Cherokee purple & Cherokee chocolate heirloom matoes, Brandywine pink/ Latvian ylw cross matoes, German Strawberry matoe, Amish paste & Champion & old german johnson matoes coming. Also have Black beauty eggplants, red sweet bell & few jalepeno peppers, delicata & butternut squash, red jewel cabbage, broccoli, early sweet corn, four winged bean, taiwanese lima bean, lima pole bean, kentucky wonder & blue lake bean, indian woman bush bean, pineapple sage, bachelor buttons, gladyolas, oregano, spanish cucumbers, etc… Still eating my fava bean chili from ealier abundant harvest. A great harvest to all & Keep on Gardening the Planet :).
Community gardener David
Anais says:
June 1, 2008 at 12:21 pmYUM. YUM & YUM
Thanks for sharing your “FIRSTS FROM THE GARDEN”
Wishing you all a most bountiful harvest.
Onward Freedom Gardeners!