Bounties of our Garden!!

I can't believe that summer is almost over. It's gone by really fast. I have gone from, "what if nothing in our garden grows?" to "Holy cow, why did we plant so much?" But I am grateful for the lessons we are learning, for the ability to be self sufficient to a degree, and for the yummy healthy food we are eating. When we went to Texas things were progressing nicely and when we got back a week later it was like our garden had taken growth hormones. It was crazy. Especially the zuchinni. But I love it so I was okay with that. Jason, on the other hand, wanted to put them back in the ground as fertilizer (he is not a fan of vegetables).

We planted about 20 tomato plants of various color and variety and I am in love. The little orange guys are so delicious I could eat them like candy. The darker one in the right corner is one of my heirloom tomatoes and it's called Black Crim and it is heavenly. I just have tomato sandwiches for lunch with these guys. I am bottling a lot of them due to our over abundance and it will be nice to eat them in the winter and know where they came from.


Do you like my siamese straight neck? I almost cried when I cut it in half to eat because I thought it was so cool.

My very first Green Zebra heirloom tomato. I was so excited for these babies. Had one on homemade wheat bread for lunch and it was fabulous. Slightly tangy, but also fruity. Can't wait for more.

Jason picked our first ears of corn last night and he was a little giddy. The corn has been his baby. It's one vegetable that he will gladly eat. It was really good too. We have a few different varieties so I am looking forward to eating them.
Jason was also excited that he got to pick our first two pumpkins. They are the sugar variety so they aren't as big and don't take as long to ripen. You make pumpkin pie out of this kind. They are so good. We do have a lot coming on though, so don't be surprised if you hear your doorbell ring and you find pumpkins instead of people.

We have picked all of our peas, green beans, and radishes. We are still picking masses of tomatoes, peppers, zuchinni, and straightneck. Some cucumbers, pumpkins, and corn. And we are still waiting for the canteloupe, honey dew, potatoes, and watermelon to ripen. With all of this bounty I am just really thankful to the Lord for all that He created for us. Food is not just for survival, but to enjoy. And He has made it really enjoyable for us. The cool thing about Brigham is that almost everyone has a garden and they all grown different things. So last night Jason took squash, tomatoes, and peppers to the Bishops house and we traded for fresh heads of garlic, jalapenos, and a good amount of his early peaches (so fabulous). I can't wait until ours are ripe. People are so willing to trade and give away produce and help one another out. It's quite common in Relief Society to have someone raise their hand and say, "I have a lot of so and so, does anyone know who needs some?" Love it!!