Shannon strikes a familiar chord in her latest blog entry “Community Gardens.” I whole heartedly agree that there is nothing more fulfilling than giving what we grow in our gardens to friends. In fact, sharing a garden’s surplus is something that most everyone can afford to do, even in a tight economy.
My friend Debbie and I have been planning our gardens together for years now. As long time cooking friends, we look to our combined soil to grow the herbs and vegetables for our summer cooking dates. We’ve learned that cucumbers grow best in her sun-filled back yard and that mint can run wild best in mine. We both make sure to plant a large number of tomato and basil plants, anticipating the time spent together making large batches of garden fresh marinara sauce and basil pesto.
Debbie and I have an open fridge policy that extends to our gardens. There have been summers when her garden is much more fruitful than mine and I’ve stopped by more than a few times, kitchen sheers in hand and snipped what I needed. Her husband Judd, crazy about Mojitos as his summer time cocktail, has sent Debbie to my house to prune my mint. When one of us is on vacation, we stop by to water each others gardens, clipping (and then eating) what’s too ripe to last.
The recent burst of color from the spring Daffodils and Forsythia have inspired us to start our garden planning for this summer. As an extension of our home gardens, Debbie and I each purchased a share in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Each week we look forward to meeting with other community members and fill a few bags of fresh produce delivered freshly picked from a local farm.