Tag Archives: Organic Gardening

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My Plum Gig: Harvesting Nature’s Candy

The Plum tree in the back yard has been steadily ripening for the last two weeks, yielding enough fruit to, so far, make two batches of sauce and three small jars of preserves. Today’s harvest will be the last for the season.

The moring’s harvest, freshly washed and ready for processing.

I referred to The California Native Plant Society’s Website to help me identify the type of candy we’ve been growing and discovered that Sierra plums are supposedly a good source of vitamins C and A and fiber. It is likely that Sierra plums were a part of the diets of Native American tribes in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains.

And so with my newly gained knowledge about this season’s candy harvest, the mess and tedium of prepping today’s harvest for the next batch of tastiness will be met with aplomb.

Be well, stay joyful.

~T.

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Flower Portrait No. 33

Delicate clusters of aromatic blooms on the back yard garden’s Meyer Lemon tree.

Life may give you lemons, but what you do with the zest from the lesson is what dictates the outcome.  

Staying positive in times of uncertainty and turmoil can be tiring, but my determination to keep my optimism and sense of humor intact when faced with difficult situations has, thus far, endured. I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given to overcome challenges, fortify my courage, and comprehend the lessons that are meant for me to learn.

Be well, stay healthy.

T.

©2020, Theresa Mae Funk. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Next Year’s Peck of Peppers

pup and pepper seeds

I’m not entirely certain where some of these Bell Pepper seeds are going to land in next year’s garden, but I insist that we make room for some of them.  Peppers of all varieties are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, potassium, folic acid and fiber. The seeds from one pepper, if germinated successfully, could yield us a peck if only we had enough acreage to accommodate them.

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How Grows It?

sunflower carrot

A Circus Circus Carrot sprouts from seed in the shade of a Russian Mammoth Sunflower.

Between obligations, I make time to nurture myself in our backyard sanctuary by spending time in the garden.  Yesterday’s hours were spent extracting grass from the strawberry patch, transplanting tomatoes, decommissioning sweet peas, and pausing to appreciate the bright green hope of new growth in old dirt.

© 2015, Theresa Mae Funk.  All rights reserved.

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Community Supported Agriculture and One Dog Friendly Kitchen

Capay Organic

This month’s Farm Fresh delivery to our door from Capay Organic.  (Dog not included.)

Our monthly Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) delivery from Capay Organic’s Farm Fresh to You  produce arrived on Friday.   We initially signed up for the service with a short-term commitment in mind; bridge the deficit that our back yard farming efforts do not provide us so that our nutritional needs could be better met.   Shopping at local grocery store chains for vegetables trucked from the Central Valley is one thing but to buy produce from Canada or Mexico?   I  prefer not to be a part of that economy because it isn’t necessary for us to do so.  We have access to fertile land in a garden I call Eden, otherwise known as California.   What might our world be like if more people were granted access to land to grow their own food and help sustain their communities?

Capay Organic 2

Stella sneaks a lick of the King Richard Leek when she thought I wasn’t looking.

Please support your local farmers.  Plant seeds of your own.  The rewards are worth the effort.

~T.

© 2014, Theresa Mae Funk. All rights reserved.

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Wendell Berry on Berries

This morning’s garden berry harvest provided me the sweetest taste of summer’s joy.

I am grateful to be so easily cheered.

.June 24 2014
“Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup.” ~Wendell Berry

© 2014 Theresa Mae Funk.  All rights reserved.