Here is the answer to the question, why do we bother to garden? Raspberries (the ever bearing, or spring- and -fall kind) are now at their peak in the back yard. A ripe raspberry from the yard has a taste like no other. And we owe these to a dear elder of the Maplewood church who gave us four plants from his patch maybe 20 years ago. For a few weeks we can feast on vanilla ice cream topped with raspberries and Missouri peaches, or breakfast waffles topped with raspberries. We will share them and also freeze a few so we can savor the taste of summer when the days grow short and the winds turn cold.
If raspberries are our perennial crop, tomatoes are the annual crop. We get 4 plants from Thies Farm every spring and place them somewhere in the back border where they will get at least a few hours of sun a day. Jet Star is the variety we have raised for years: they are medium in size, very solid and flavorful. They also resist several wilts and diseases. They are no match for squirrels, though, and we usually find half eaten ones around the base of the trees. This year we think we have found a squirrel solution. Ever since Norm moved the hummingbird feeder to the middle of the tomato patch, the tomatoes have stayed on the vine and ripened without blemish. The hummers are starting to migrate now--lots of aerial skirmishes over territory. We just hope a few stay around until we have picked most of our crop!
We take our extra tomatoes to church and let anyone who doesn't have access to home grown goodness take what they would like. Often the older people will take just one, and their faces light up with anticipation, remembering the taste from the days when they, too, were blessed to have a garden.
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