Home Grown

Melissa Sandfort

20140827_084030Summer is one of my favorite seasons (not that I have many to choose from!) for a number of reasons. I enjoy sitting in my new rocking chair on the front porch at dusk, watching for deer and turkey to walk through the yard. I love going to the lake and letting the kids play on the beach. I love firing up the grill and cooking burgers. And I LOVE the fresh fruit and vegetables.

This summer, my in-laws planted quite the garden and have been sharing the goodies with our family. I cooked, cut and froze more than 400 ears of sweet corn; we’ve had spaghetti squash, cucumbers galore, potatoes, cantaloupe and if I liked them, could’ve had tomatoes. If you can see in the picture, there’s a lighter colored cucumber on the top of the pile. These are Syrian cucumbers – the seeds came over from Lebanon with my grandfather and my grandmother (featured in AgWalk!) has kept the seeds growing over the years. She shared some with us this year and my father-in-law had success growing them. At the end of the season, you let one get big and save the seeds. The great thing about these cucumbers is that you don’t peel them, and no matter how big they get, they’re never bitter.

Gardens can be quite a bit of work and let me tell you, theirs is pristine. Straight rows, no weeds and some of the best cantaloupe I’ve ever eaten. I’m very thankful for their efforts…and maybe next year we’ll have a garden at our house! Until then, it’s cucumbers for late-night snacks.

Until we walk again …

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