Sunday, June 01, 2008

How does your garden grow?

Location: Sister/Brother-in-law's garden

Time: Arrived later in the morning than planned. DANG HOT and humid

Purpose of visit: Gathering delicious home-grown produce, of which it has just been learned that potatoes are the only things ready to be "picked" and all onions have been pulled. *sigh*

And scene...

City girl, hands on hips and already sweating, surveys the alternating rows of leafy green and ugly dirt brown. picks up the phone and dials...

Sister J. picks up the phone - "hello"

Me - "uhm, which ones are the potatoes?"

J. - explosion of laughter which lasts a good 5 minutes.

end scene.

My Cherokee and farming ancestors would be appalled.lol But hey, I've never had a garden. I had NO IDEA what potato plants looked like. I can identify tomato and squash but other than that - I am hopeless. My father just shakes his head and says "city girl."

hehe however, now I know. AND I know how to harvest potatoes. Can I just say - OUCH! gardening sure does remind you of muscles you did not even know you had. I have found I'm more of a "sit in the dirt and dig" gardener rather than a "bend over and make your legs scream in pain" kind of gardener. lol

But..BUT look what I have to look forward to... can you see it? Barely peaking through are TOMATOES! WOOHOO I wish I had taken a better picture but it was so sunny it was hard to see what I was shooting.lol They have planted a ton of tomatoes, mostly heirloom and I could not be more excited. Can you believe I used to hate tomatoes? This is what happens when you only taste those mealy yucky ones from the grocery store.

I also can look forward to some lovely squash - yellow and zucchini. I have already instructed J. not to get rid of the squash flowers as I am going to try filling them with cheese/ricotta and fry those puppies up. It's something they frequently do in Italy, but I haven't ever had the chance to try them. this time - OH YEAH.

I am already combing the internet for the perfect recipe. I'll let you know how they turn out.

So sorry the posts have been far and few between of late. Life is at it's normal mundane pace and pretty boring in Tx Espresso land. I will try to do better for those of you still checking in. hehe you never know, things could get more interesting soon! =)

More later...

6 comments :

Michelle | Bleeding Espresso said...

Gardening can *definitely* be a workout...looks like you learned quite a bit and had lots of fun too :)

So life may be getting interesting...hmm....

Anonymous said...

Fresh grown tomatos are great. And I wouldn't be able to recognize a potato plant either.

Anonymous said...

Hi, you could try patio gardening like I do. It's for people who don't like to sweat/bend over (wimps, city slickers). You just put your plants in big flower pots on the patio. There are actually tomato plants and probably others that are specifically bred for patio gardening.

Andrea

Cynthia Rae said...

I have been the worst friend EVER! I just haven't been a good blogger, sorry. Just wanted to stop in and see how things are going for you. Sending a big hug from Italy!
Cyn
ps. Your garden looks BEAUTIFUL! You should see my house plants! Not dead, but certainly on their way! Hehehehehe!

Texas Espresso said...

Michelle - I am such a city girl. no wonder gardeners stay in good shape. lol my muscles were screaming for days. Hopefully more interesting... but don't your breath. LOL

J. Doe - thank you! I am glad to know I'm not the only one who while knowing potatoes grow in the ground, the ones I get are from a bin. ::wink:: Good to see you - how are things?

Andrea - I SHOULD do a patio garden but I am frightfully bad about forgetting to water stuff. sigh I try to work on it though, because I LOVE fresh herbs and such. hehe

Cyn - So good to see you my friend! I know you have been crazy busy so no worries. hopefully we can catch up soon. you going to be in Italy in Nov? I think Im heading that way then....

Anonymous said...

Hi! Errgh gardening ain't for me either! But I would love to know how your zucchni turned out. In Australia, I've never cooked with the flowers before but here in Italy, i love them!
ps i have no idea what a potato plant looks like either...don't they just magically appear in bags with a 2.99 dollar sticker on them? ;)