‘Tis the time! The vegetable garden has quite quickly become remarkably useful.  It is actually a bit too small,* the winter squash have been relegated to the old slope paddock, no longer used for horses, where they are much happier.  The squash, that is; they are designed to sprawl amongst tall field grasses and the bugs don’t seem to find them. 

The variety of seed out there is rather amazing.  But, I most confess, that when part of the aim is to fill a small freezer, there is a certain tendency to prefer the tried and true classics.  Thankfully, the seed companies have sort of caught on to this.  The old, keeping varieties are popping back up again, in and amongst the exotics. 

Certain things won’t grow here without excessive coddling: sweet potatoes and eggplants chief among them.   Also, mysteriously, cucumbers…despite the fact that our neighbor routinely has plenty.  On the other hand, the good New England classics are quite happy: peas, beans, carrots, beets, kale, squash, chard, parsnips, spring lettuce.   Peppers and tomatoes if started right… There is a reason for local cuisine.

*I can see it from Google though (Google sees everything), we have a slight wiggle in the western bed.