In many area gardens, beds of early beets, carrots, turnips and garlic bulbs will be harvested between now and early August, challenging us to choose short-season and frost-hardy varieties for continuous planting.
The rain, the sight of the Sun at the top of the sky, the quickened greening of the earth and the press of crops ready for harvest pull us into the rising tide of the growing season.
You won’t find weekly pickups at Medicine Buddha Botanicals, nor will you find baskets of farm-fresh veggies. Rather, this CSA has just four pickups a year and they’re filled with tinctures, salves, teas and other goodies.
In the wild and in the garden, the season is about a month later than last year, when I noted that spring arrived a month earlier than the year before.
It’s come to this: the New York Times said Berkshire Mountain Distillers is at the top of the “craft gin” game, and voted it Number One. It fits into the larger picture of a changing Berkshires, as the county — especially points south — seals its fame as “the epicenter of great food.”
Proceed with planting Cosmic Red Carrots, Rainbow Swiss Chard, colorful radishes, purple potatoes and the varied cabbage family – kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage. If all vegetable garden spaces are not yet prepared, sow extra seed in beds that are ready so that seedlings may be moved into spacious ground later.
When we use herbs and spices in food, they are an excellent tonic for promoting good health -- and a source of great pleasure by adding amazing flavor.