What’s New in Our Garden?
Hello Dear Friends and Subscribers!
Did you know that the sweetest carrots (and I surmise many, if not all, root crops) follow a freeze? We have had some frost but not an actual freeze. We are hopeful that you will notice increasing sweetness in your carrots with the increasingly cold temperatures.
Isn’t that just like our Lord to surprise us with His goodness (in the form of a sweet treat) in the midst of the cold reality of winter? A freeze also ripens up the Hachiya persimmons. They are the plump, acorn-shaped persimmon that comes to a soft point at the end. They are ripe when they look and feel soft, like a ripe avocado. Many people prefer them mixed into cookies, puddings, sorbets and jams. The Fuju persimmon is ripe when firm and orange and tastes great when prepared and eaten like an apple!
Christmas Gift Ideas!!
Why not order a Festive Bag of our Produce for a Friend or Loved One and let them know that the proceeds benefit others in need? We will package up our regular box size of produce into a large Decorator’s Bag with a festive bow and deliver it to the address of your choice.
You can also purchase a gift card with a subscription for just one special day, one month, one season, or one year. Text or call Cindi for details at (209) 607-1887. Supply is limited, so order soon.
What’s New in Our Garden?
There are always surprises out at the Wellspring Charitable Gardens site. You may occasionally get a “surprise” in your baskets as well! One subscriber found a friendly green caterpillar. We have some natural deterrents for the critters but sometimes a few get by! Our apologies. You may also get a surprise sting while washing your greens. Not an insect or poisonous sting, but rather an ancient me-dicinal herb called stinging nettle. It is available for tea and braising. However, when it inadvertently gets into your greens, it does sting. I try to weed them out of the greens but occasionally they took sneak by!
This week Chris Leonard (our Web-Site Designer) and I were in for another surprise! We were out taking pictures of the garden for our new web-site. It is our goal to have a picture of each item in our garden and in your baskets so that you can more easily identify your produce and even find a new recipe to try related to that item. We were scouting out some big leaves and I was guessing that we were looking at a robust rutabaga. I texted Anna, our Master Gardner a picture to be sure. Suddenly, I saw a very large animal nestled between the large leaves. Can you see the furry brown spot to the right of the top leaf in the picture? The barely visible, brown fur blended so well with the ground I had nearly missed it.
My heart skipped a beat and then I relaxed, thinking it was a cat. Then I realized, with my dog right next to me, it couldn’t be a cat because it would have high tailed it away long be-fore I even kneeled down to take a closer look. Another rapid heart beat. I touched the fur and it was so soft that I instinctively knew it had to be a rabbit. But why was it so still? Was it dead? Injured? No, it was breathing, but ever so still. It must be sick. So off I ran, putting my dog away to avoid providing her with a fast food meal of “Hasenpfeffer” (rabbit stew).
I came back with a cage and gloves and picked up the cutest, floppy eared, brown eyed, velveteen rabbit ever. He overnighted in an old chicken coop (without chickens). When I went out to check on him the next day, he was actually a she and had given birth to seven little baby rabbits. I was so excited! I called the pet store, learned what I could about how to take care of the new family, and sent Keith off to buy a properly equipped bunny cage. Alas, the mommy bunny was unable to keep them alive. We tried to help her but to no avail. So we have been left to foster this beautiful bereft mommy rabbit until we find a new home for her. There are rabbit rescues around, but if you would like to adopt this adorable runaway rabbit (it is so tame — it must have escaped someone’s home), please let me know!! She is so sweet and gentle and easy to handle.
