Fenton Friday: Herbalicious

It has been a wet week here in the Mid-Atlantic -- to say the least. We measured over 6 inches in my rain gauge as of yesterday and it is still coming down hard. The weeds are going crazy in the vegetable plot, but I am staying mostly away so I don't compact the soil and because there is really not much I can do at this point. Many of these "weeds" are annual flowers re-seeding from last year. I will give them a few weeks to grow and then transplant them to a designated cutting garden area of the plot, lest they take over the whole thing.

I did go over yesterday to cut some Spinach and saw that my first Strawberries are ripening! I tasted them and they are sweet -- not water-logged and bland as I'd feared. I also cut a big swath of Parsley as this Sunday I am co-hosting an Herb Fest at the Takoma Park Farmers Market. We will use the Parsley for one of the tasting recipes.

I am also thawing some Basil Pesto I made last summer and froze to lock in that fresh-from-the-garden taste. I'll be sharing that as a sample on a cracker and we have local chef's recipes printed out for taking and trying at home with herbs you can grow or purchase fresh from the market. Here is the event announcement below. I hope to see many of you there!


Kathy Jentz, editor of Washington Gardener Magazine and Mary-Denise Smith, food blogger and a recipe tester for the Washington Post, will host Herb Talks and Tastings from 10am-12noon at the Takoma Park Farmers Market. 
   Taste herbs, learn about what to plant, find recipes and bring the kids to plant basil seeds to take home with special thanks to Old Takoma Ace Hardware.
   Bring the kids to our free planting station at the market on Sunday. Take home potted basil seeds for your home garden then reap the benefits all summer long.
   We'll be raffling off two kitchen herb pots from Blue Ridge Botanicals on Sunday. Enter to win by spending at least $10 at any vendor between 10am-12noon. Drawing at 12noon. You do not need to be at the market to win, but will need to pick up your prize by 2pm.
   See more details at:
https://www.facebook.com/events/174376330050824/permalink/180904926064631/

How is your vegetable garden growing this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 6th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.