June is a time for blueberries

Hi, I'm Shannon, and I'll be posting here with Yeon.

Something delicious I made with findings from the Farmer's Market: Fresh strawberries and chevre on toasted ciabatta slices. Hello, easy! I took a few slices of ciabatta from the Cakes for Cause booth and toasted it (that place has the BEST scones and croissants). Then I added chevre from the Caprikorn Farms (new place, so I had to check it out), and fresh sliced strawberries (from the booth on the left in the first row- I forget the name, but I am sure Yeon remembers). I had this for dinner one night when it was 100 degrees out. It only seemed fair that I could have dessert for dinner since it was so hot.

I've also had some delicious raw longhorn cheddar from the South Mountain Creamery. I was amazed at the range of flavors in this cheese and highly recommend it. Other market favorites include Canadian bacon from Rohrer's (very lean). I also recently bought fresh garlic (from Summer Creek Farm) and scapes (from aforementioned unnamed place) and was wild about them. The scapes were great stir-fried and grilled, and I used the garlic in everything. Not only did I keep the vampires away, but also many undesired people. Garlic works!

June is the month of blueberries. I was reminded of this when I saw my neighbor's ripening fruit today. I would love to grow berries next year, but I'll let you in on a little secret: they grow wild in DROVES in the mountains around Frederick. The Appalachian Trail has some outstanding picking, but you'll find blueberries everywhere. Blueberries are a low bush with fruit that is partly hidden. After a while, you'll recognize the bushes for their foliage and take mental notes on locations for the following year. Don't pick the berries until they are soft and almost black; the purplish ones are tart and unpalatable. And of course, if you are picking wild berries, leave some for other people and animals. Pick berries during the day, as we have bears around here, they come out at night, and they love the fruit.

Blooming now in my yard: hydrangea, yarrow, monarda, hosta, lavender.

The horse manure that I got this year had the seeds of a spiny weed in it that I have to wear leather gloves to remove. While I was away for a week, it took over. Luckily, it's not that hard to pull. Somewhere behind this abomination I have tomato plants that are starting to bear fruit. I also have bok choy that has already started to bolt. Note to self: next year, grow the cruciferous vegetables in the shade. My Chesapeake Bay Fish peppers are hiding below some other pepper plants and will have to be moved, as they are slow growers. Everything is a jumble and I am trying to cage stuff now; compare this to Yeon's ordered and virtually weedless garden of earthly delights and you will appreciate the differences in our personalities!

Several of my neighbors and I, including Yeon, are trying out a vegetable sharing scheme. So far I shared some mushrooms that I grew from a kit (incredibly delicious shiitake and blue oyster mushrooms). I have herbs but so does everyone. I'll have lots of tomatoes but so will everyone. Soon I will probably have some kale to offer. It looks like we may do better with plant sharing than with vegetable sharing, but we'll see.

Shannon