Au Potager

This year, I was a bit more dissapointed with the produce. I am not sure if it's because last year was my 1st and I was pleasantly surprised and now I expect more, or if my crop just didn't do as well. I think it is the latter unfortunately. ("Ok, Fraiser"- Sarah Silverman) With my morning sickness beginning right when the crucial garden-tending time began (April/May), I slacked a lot. My dad said the reason for my "nubby" carrots was the soil. The reason my Swiss Chard was stunted? The soil. (says my dad) Sooo... next year, I need to actually USE that soil test kit I have to make sure it's not too acidic or alkaline. "But I used lots of good compost and manure (aged, of course)". Correct, says my dad, in his know-it-all-tone... Hence the high acidity. Ok Dad, your garden speaks louder than any words. Granted you use a bit of non-organic "stuff" every now and then, but that doesn't mean I can discount the productivity of your crop. Which, by the way, was amazing. It looked like everything was on steroids. (it wasn't, by the way- unlike Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, A-Rod and the like) Suffice it to say, we still reaped some beautiful beans, squash, a few carrots, cucumbers and lovely tomatoes. The beans were from Seed Savers Exchange, from which I will be ordering from again, along with the cucumbers (will NOT order, this variety was way too bitter) and squash. The problem with the squash was that it was too prolific. If there is one variety to have too much of, this was a fun little guy - an heirloom called Jaune et Vert (french for Yellow & Green) and looks like a Patipan ufo-type of squash. I sautéd them, roasted the big ones with butter & brn sugar and both ways were great. Oh, and I sliced thin little discs for my Ratatouille Tart.That was fun. Anyway, here are some pics from the harvest this year. I learned a lot and hopefully next year will be better. I will have two babies on my hip, so we'll see how that goes.

*Sidenote: This year I leared the difference between a Jardin and Au Potager. Both mean garden in french, but the first means flower garden and the second means vegetable garden. Potager is French, basically a kitchen garden, and traditionally was fairly structured in layout, often with potted plants and ornamental structures as well as herbsflowers. It was separate from purely ornamental gardens, and close to the kitchen (potage itself meant soup). The ingredients for the day were the ones found in the Potager for the evening's soup or dinner. Fresh daily and what you eat is what's on hand? I like that idea!

Bon Apetit!