Explosions

It’s a little like herding cats around here. While I have been busy processing loads and loads of figs before they spoil, the rest of the garden has been exploding.

This head of cabbage split right in two, it just could not contain the exuberant growth within its outside leaves for one second longer. I was just about to cut it to take into the house when it popped right in front of me.

The head is still delicious and I did harvest it  right away, but the leaves will not be able to used for cabbage rolls as I had planned since they are torn asunder. This is a very large cabbage, it will take a while to use it up and I hope the other heads don’t blow up before I can get to them.

Tonight has coleslaw on the menu as well as mixed into the stir fry. We love to steam chopped cabbage slightly (barely past the wilt stage) and garnish with butter and a hint of fresh dill as a side vegetable.

On the other side of the garden, I harvested all the overgrown beans, squash, lettuce and kale. It was enough to fill the wheelbarrow to brimming. It is important at this stage to keep the vegetables picked before they are overgrown and the plants stop producing. The more that is picked now, the more new vegetables will be growing in the next weeks.

The cows and calves in my show barn are the recipients of this bounty since I am unable to keep up or give away enough before it is all too big to consume for us humans. And speaking of consuming, if no one shows up to pick the rest of the row of beans in the next day, I will be forced to call a second alarm green bean emergency and bring in all the neighbors to help with the harvest.