Fruit Dude Coverage

We've been seeing dudes selling fruit (mostly strawberries) on corners around our neighborhood and elsewhere in the city for a few months. We've idly wondered about the fruit, the dudes ("the fruit dudes" as they seem to be called), the cost, and more but we still haven't bought from them or looked into it further.

Thanks to NoeValleySF who, after a heated debate in the comments, did a bit of actual journalism. Hats off to you, NVSF. I think I just might buy some fruit this weekend.

Meanwhile, our house was painted, which now makes it one of the most atrocious on our block. Ah, renting.

Gardening fills the plate

Although we never really had any delusions that our little garden would be able to sustain us, there is a great sense of satisfaction when, if only for one meal, it actually does.

Tonight we went on a little harvesting rampage, and plunged our fingers into the dirt to retrieve carrots and beets. We've been too wary of committing vegetal infanticide up until now, so we've left them alone all season, but the tops of the beetroots were poking above the earth, and the carrot tops looked pretty healthy, so we dug in.

Our guys might be miniature, but they're ours. Every single part of the beet plant is edible, so today's harvest gave us some greens, stalks, and roots. Carrots were just big enough to join the party too, and our trusty and prolific arugula rounded things out. The non-garden team was pretty light - some chicken, a few drips of olive oil, and some seasoning (sumac, garlic, salt and pepper for the chicken, some aminos for the beet greens, and a little vinegar and mustard as a dressing for the arugula, if you must know.)

Clockwise from upper left - Beet greens, beet stalks, carrots, beet roots, arugula

Chicken got some help from our own sage, dried a few weeks ago

Beet greens and stalks took a sauna with some aminos

And the resulting meal is exactly the summertime reason that springtime gardens get planted:

Sickly Veggies

Houston, we have a problem. I think.

Our Zucchini plant (generously given to us by SOMA Farm Report after their trip to Love Apple Farm) is getting eaten up by something. It's not clear whether it's impacting growth, but it certainly doesn't look good. We haven't done anything yet to address the situation, and we're open to ideas.

Next to our zucchini, our cucumber plant is looking a little under the weather as well. The leaves are turning a brownish rust color, and no sign of any cucumbers (but perhaps that's to be expected).

Meanwhile, the squash are mostly looking okay. They are huge! Small animals could live underneath them. Perhaps they do -- our one strawberry disappeared in the night in the past week.

Above us, in the (?) 80' tall Redwood tree in our yard, a war rages. Every morning, a pile of branches has been dumped on our sidewalk. We haven't heard a ruckus, but a birds nest was dropped from the tree over the weekend. No eggs - it looks like the birds lost this round. Weird to think all of this is happening in our yard, but it's all out of view and earshot for us.

On the road again...

We've had a very busy couple of months, which is good because it gives our crops some time to grow without us getting impatient.

Our tomatoes have started to bear fruit - 6 of the Super Marzanos and 1 tiny Rose de Berne have appeared in our crowded half wine barrel. These plants were 4" when we bought them and now they are taller than me!

Our tomato plants started from seed are now about 4-6" tall, so hopefully they can catch up soon.

Last weekend we headed up to Napa and Sonoma for a day of relaxation to celebrate Brad's birthday. One of our favorite regions is Dry Creek in Sonoma, and we got a few great shots of the lush green fields of grapes that go on and on for seemingly miles.

Some grapes up close:

What a refreshing way to prepare for a busy week at work. Seeing these flowers every day when we walk out the front door helps keep spirits high as well: