The Garden and the Pumpkin

Well, the garden as of 6/16 looks like this, up nicely, no rabbits yet (they will die), weeds are held at bay and we are puffed up like a couple of toads thinking this is going to be a dandy. The beets and carrots are robust, not overly crowed, up a good 4 inches and feeling real good about themselves.

The Zucchini appeared to have not come up but they are nie on to worthless anyway and tend to turn into baseball bats at every opportunity. The Chaco Canyon Beans, these are the ones left by Native Americans in a cave in Chaco Canyon NM, are up against some bordering conifers and planted so they can run to the top of the 20 foot hedge, thus not taking up much of the garden space. In other words, they are going vertical which appears to be their calling.

The Chaco Canyon beans are unusual because of their size, about like a regular sized marble (do kids still with marbles? ), white and fair in taste. I really don't think Native Americans were totally interested in taste but rather in general food production and these babies are big and productive---and probably nutritious.

Sitting in front of the garden is one of last year's pumpkins, a pumpkin that is still intact, no fungus, firm and very edible, a clear example how one can go from one garden to the next. Admittedly, there is just not too much to eat in the garden, but lettuce, chard and onions are making a show of it. Plus, who knows how long the pumpkin will last.

I know, folks are saying, "Who wants to eat a pumpkin?" Ya, ya, pumpkins are not exactly top fair unless combined with milk, eggs and spices to make a pie but still, like a squash, they are food and not to be slighted. They do last for at least eight months with out special storage efforts---and they ARE food. So there.