Getting dirty in the garden

It's so sad to see my poor garden deteriorate, but that's just part of the seasons of life. The other day, my dad and I pulled the wilted tomato plants out of the dirt, harvested the onions, and got really dirty in the process.

First, we pulled out all of the dead plants, weeds, and saved the vegetables that we could still eat -- like the carrots, kale, brussels sprouts, and onions. My dad wanted to rototill the soil and get the ground ready for next spring, so we borrowed a Kuboda from one of our friends, and really turned that dirt over. 

Throughout the summer, we had been composting, so it was a perfect time to dump it for the season. We had a little trouble since the buckets were so dang heavy. We first tried to lift it with a chain wrapped around the plastic container and secured to the Kuboda. In the process, the container cracked. After a few different scenarios, we successfully got them lifted and carried to the garden -- hooray!

The only problem? The smell! Oh man, if my dad was almost gagging, you know it was bad. 

We also raked a bunch of leaves into the garden and rototilled those in. While he was on the Kuboda, I started pulling corn stalks and sunflowers out of the smaller garden. Some of the stalks came out pretty easy, and a few not so easy. I was hunched over pulling one out and out of nowhere collapsed with a sharp pain at the base of my spine. I took a break and stretched my back, but the pain was still there and had to brace myself every time I pulled a stalk. Not fun, but when  you have to get things done, you have to push through the pain.

We didn't thin out our carrots, so they are all pretty small, but edible.

My dad on the Kuboda, rototilling in all those leaves.

Dirty face, dirty hands, dirty clothes. I was getting grimy, but all for the love of my garden! Definitely don't need makeup when you're working like that.

So many dang leaves.

The dirt went right through my shoes.

Aged brown, but still beautiful.

Fresh Garden Salsa

What do I like most about summer? Going out to my garden, feeling the dirt between my toes as I pick ripe vegetables. Tomatoes, pickles, zucchini,onions, yellow squash, green beans - we plant a bundle, which makes it even more exciting when each is ready to be picked.

One of my favorite things to make when all the right produce is ripe....SALSA. From the beginning, I've never followed a recipe, but just picked an assortment of goodies and put it in a bowl and taste tested it for what it needs a little more of. To me, it's delicious, but everyone has their likes and dislikes. Here's a little photo selection of what I put in my fresh garden salsa:

I chose to use grape and cherry tomatoes instead of regular-sized tomatoes. It's just a preference. I think that these tomatoes are sweeter and have more flavor, so even though it takes a long time to chop these up, it's worth it.

A few years ago, I went to Burley Park, an antique and collectibles market, and came across a man selling purple pepper plants (the plant on the right). I had never seen them before (neither had my mom or grandma). The man said that the fruit grows purple and it has heat. Being such a unique find, my grandma and I both picked up a plant.

Here's an up close view of the purple pepper. Each year my grandma and I harvest the seeds when the pepper turns red. We save them for the next year and when spring comes around, we plant them. I put a few plants in my garden, too, and they are thriving. They aren't as tall as the ones grown in a pot, but they have peppers on them.

This is what I put in the salsa:

-medium-sized bowl full of cherry and grape tomatoes
-1 onion
-4 banana peppers
-2 green peppers
-2 jalepenos
-3 purple peppers
-salt and pepper to taste

I cut the tomatoes into about five pieces. This took quite a long time, but it was well worth it.

When I started cutting the jalapenos, I wasn't sure if I wanted to use two of them because I didn't want the salsa to be too spicy. I cut up one into very small pieces and the second one was added as I taste tested it for heat.

The purple peppers are very small, so they were cut into very small pieces. You can't even see them in the final picture of the salsa. My dad ate a slice of a purple pepper and he immediately said his mouth was burning. They definitely have some heat, but bring a nice addition to the salsa.

As for the rest of the vegetables, cut them into chunks. Stir that baby up and taste test it. Need a little salt? Add it. Want a little more spice? Cut up some more jalapenos or purple peppers.

TA-DA! Delicious fresh salsa made entirely with vegetables from my garden!