August is the Perfect Time for a Ripe tomato!

Gardening is new to me and I find that all season I have entered the garden each day with a sense of adventure and can honestly say I find it every time.

 

I completely love the August gardening experience which provides the full summer heat during the day balanced by the coolness of the early morning breeze and the occasional call of the Canadian geese as they begin their migration. It gives me the pleasure of knowing that our gardening days this season are numbered, but with the reminder that the best days of fall harvest are still ahead. I marvel at the bounty of tomatoes that have our tomato plants bending to the ground from the weight of ripe tomatoes that need to be picked. It isn't uncommon to hear "Oh!! That's Good!" as we enjoy the sweet pop of summer in our mouths from the cherry tomatoes we eat while we work.  

 

As I look around the garden I am amazed at how much has been harvested from just a few months of work. We are really happy to share that we've donated 197 lbs. of fresh produce to Channels Food Rescue in addition to the bounty of vegetables that we are enjoying ourselves.  So much has been accomplished and so many have benefited from the garden in a very short period of time. That's the eye-opener for me. I think about it often and wonder what could be possible if we approached everything in life from this new perspective. It's really a paradigm shift. Where we once thought we had to do it all by ourselves, we've learned that we accomplish so much more with collaboration. Where we believed that individually we didn't have the time or resources to really do much, we've learned that collectively as a group, we have everything we need.

 

I came across this wonderful poem called "Cherry Tomatoes" by Anne Higgins that sums up the garden's gift to me this summer.  In her poem, Anne describes herself sitting on the ground in her garden in the middle of August eating cherry tomatoes right from the vine. "…the juice bursts in my mouth"; "I feel that I am in the mouth of summer, sloshing in the saliva of August".  Anne continues to vividly describe her experience of the tomatoes, the garden, the season, and then shares the "aha!" gift from her experience, "and my own bursting heart splits me with life".

 

I hope that you are finding your way this summer to the best tomatoes possible and that you experience the "Oh My! Aha!" moment. If that hasn't happened yet, please don't let the opportunity pass to stop by to visit us in the garden and we will not let you leave with an empty mouth or hands!

 

Be Well and Enjoy Life!

Karen