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Hubby went back to the market today and sold a bunch of radishes and a batch of lettuce. The buyers told him that they are eagerly awaiting tomatoes and cucumbers. I’m pretty excited - I never really thought about selling… Ok, that’s kind of a fib, because I’ve always said that if we lived at the farm and one of us could farm “full time” I would do a garden twice the size and have a real country farm stand. I just never thought about taking the excess from the garden we already have and selling them at market.
Right now we’ve made enough cash to cover about 1/3 of this year’s garden costs. Of course, the real goal of the garden is to grow & preserve enough veg so that we do not have to purchase.
Reasons I grow a garden:
- We save a lot of money (for $150 worth of seeds & plants we get thousands of dollars worth of fresh produce)
- We reduce our carbon footprint by not purchasing vegetables that have travelled to market
- We eat healthier since we do not use any artificial fertilizers or dangerous chemical pesticides
- We eat fresher, since all we have to do is pick what we want, when we want it
- And of course, I like to do it - I get to spend a lot of time outside, feel especially connected to the Earth, and weeding is like meditation to me
However, the idea of selling the excess (because there always is) and recouping the monetary costs that went into making the nice veggies grow… that appeals to the Frugal Fannie inside me! WE shall see where this all takes us…
It is hard to believe that harvest season is beginning. The garden is full to bursting with plants, and while most things are only a few inches high, there are some lovely things ready for munching upon.
I planted three different kinds of radishes. Above are the Early Scarlet Globe. Glenn sold enough of these little hot, crisp babies yesterday to cover all the seeds. Since I really do not do anything with radishes besides eat them raw, there will be more for sale as they mature.
These are the Easter Egg radishes, for obvious shape and color reasons. They are a bit milder than the scarlets, but very tasty and make a great presentation. They are a little later than the Scarlets, so there are fewer ready at the moment. The third type is Chinese Red Meat. I’ve never done them before and they are not quite ready for picking, so we shall see what they are like in a week or so!
I really need to get a picture of the lettuce growing in the garden - this picture does not do it justice. The self seeded, “volunteer” patch is flourishing unbelievably well. There is a variety of types including Red and Green Leaf Lettuces, May Queen and some random Meculins. I’ve been enjoying fresh picked salads at work for lunch all week. There is more than we could ever use, so as soon as Glenn finds a source for cellophane produce bags, we are going to start selling the lettuce as well. (Our local “Crunchy Store” purchases from local farmers, as long as you do not use pesticides, etc.)
More pictures as things keep growing!
Take a decent quantity your favorite fresh herbs and add to a measure of good quality vinegar. Ok, I know that is pretty unspecific, but this isn’t rocket science. The more herbs you add, the stronger the flavor of the finished product. Store out of direct sunlight and in a cool place for a few weeks - again the longer you let it sit, the stronger the flavor, but no more than a month. IMPORTANT! Make sure you use an all glass container as vinegar will react with metal and plastics can leach.
When done, strain out the herbs and enjoy! It should last as long as plain vinegar in the same storage conditions.
I’m currently trying chive blossoms in white vinegar and would like to try other combinations as well. I was thinking of trying apple cider vinegar and sliced ginger root…. yum! The chive blossoms are turning the vinegar a fabulous color!
Thanks to Maria Noel Groves of Wintergreen Botanicals LLC for showing us how to make this!
Chive Blossoms & White Vinegar - what a color!
