Wednesday, August 17, 2011

just when I thought it was over, there are more cucumbers

My how things can change in just a short amount of time, from this....



to this....


I think anyone who has a vegetable garden suffers from the same affliction.  We all over plant "just in case".  Even when you know what you are doing, there are so many variables that are just out of your control.  Weather conditions, fungus, insects, pollination issues, sudden death for unknown reasons - you really have no choice but to over do it.   A problem follows with all that over planting though - every season you will have at least one crop that does so well you will be begging others to take it off your hands.  This year it's cucumbers here at the homestead.  I'm not sure how my cucumber plants don't have powdery mildew, which slows them down, by mid-August.  That's practically unheard of in the Northeast, but they don't.  They are also still blooming and reproducing like crazy.

I've already harvested 18 pounds for consumption by my family and friends, plus I've made pickles twice.  I was so relieved when a blog post from the Connecticut chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association arrived in my inbox yesterday about an organization I knew nothing about.  AmpleHarvest.org seeks to connect backyard gardeners and small farmers with local food pantries, where you can drop off your excess veggies. Stuff that is still good enough for your family, but you just can't consume fast enough.

Today my daughter and I will be dropping off 32 pounds of cucumbers (a good lesson for the pre-teen as well) to Operation Hope in Fairfield, CT.  Our organically grown cucumbers will be distributed to their clients through their food pantry.


I actually harvested 36 pounds this morning, 4 I'll keep to make one more batch of pickles.  Brings our grand total on cucumbers so far this year to 54 pounds. Crazy!



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