Cheers for Volunteers!

The volunteers I am referring to are the ones growing in my garden.  That's right.  I didn't plant them, but they volunteered to grow.  They are usually seeds that got blown around from last years plants, or maybe a bird carried it over and dropped it in the garden.  However they got there, once they start growing, they end up growing healthier than if I planted them myself.  I wondered about that at first.  Why do weeds, for instance grow better than the plants I sowed?  Well, they're growing because they happen to be in the idea environment.  They were just sitting in a pinch of rich soil with the right amount of moisture and sunlight.  Out of a million seeds, maybe only a few take off because they happened to be in the right place at the right time. 

And these happy coincidences become garden "volunteers".  When I first heard that term from a fellow gardener, I understood it instantly.  Oh yes, I do have volunteers and I am happy when they show up. 

Actually, weeds are unwanted volunteers.  We don't plant them but they show up.  And to make things even more complicated, any plant that's not where you want it to be can be considered a "weed".  What's a weed to one person is a prized plant to another.

But I'm going on a tangent.

I wanted to talk about the volunteers that are growing in my garden that are going to feed me in June.  These are the plants that I welcome.

I found this runner bean growing on the side of my FIL's house (garden #2).  I'm surprised it's growing there because there's hardly any sun there this time of year.  But, look how healthy it is and it already has harvestable beans growing on it.  Runner beans can grow up to 15 inches long, so you don't need a lot of them to make a meal.  After I took this photo, I staked it up off the ground so it can start climbing.
 

This is Italian Dandelion, and to be honest, I've been trying to get rid of it, so theoretically, it's a weed.  I planted it a few years ago, but thought it was too bitter, so I pulled it out.  But no matter how I try, it keeps coming back.  Now that I have this challenge, I'm thankful to have it.  If may to too bitter to eat in a salad, but maybe it'll be okay stirfried.  I was hoping it would taste like arugula, but it's more bitter than that.  Speaking of dandelion, the common dandelion weed we all have with the yellow flower is also edible and actually delicious. 

This is my favorite pole bean, called the "Rattlesnake Bean".  I plant these every year, but this one is a volunteer plant.  It's growing next to a tomato plant and using the tomato plant to climb up on.  One of the reasons I like this bean is because of it's purple striping.  It's easy to see when you are picking them.  If you've ever harvested green beans you will know that it's really hard to find them when they are the same color as the plant. 

So cheers for the volunteers!  I am thankful to them.

P.S.  Hi Tammy!  I hope you will enjoy my blog.  If you want to start from the beginning and know my "challenge rules"  go here:  THE CHALLENGE

Loquats and Lemons

I couldn't believe it when my friend Audrey told me she still had loquats in her tree and that I should come over and pick them.  The tree is in her backyard on a slippery slope so you have to watch your footing on the way down.  I happily climbed that tree last month picking the succulent little orange yellow fruit.  But there's always that chance that a branch could break or I could go off balance and fall pretty far down and roll all the way to the end of the hill.  But it's worth it and it's fun.

I never had a loquat until Audrey introduced me to them this year and I can eat handfuls a day.  They have 3 big seeds inside which take up about 30% of the fruit.  They are juicy, sweet and healthy too.  They are a good source of vitamin A and fiber.

I picked almost 10 pounds.  I put most of it away in the fridge to save until June.  The rest are going to disappear fast in the next couple of days.  They are refreshing and make a healthy snack or dessert.

She also gave me some lemons from her tree that was just dripping with fruit.

So why is it okay for me to glean so much food from my friends?  Because if it's not picked, it will just fall off and rot on the ground.  And if you tasted one of these juicy little fruits, you wouldn't want to waste them either...