The day I have been waiting for since March

After being in New York for the past week, I returned to a somewhat unruly garden with so many things that were ready to harvest. I'll admit I was getting a little discouraged by the garden because although everything was getting bigger, pretty much the only things we have been able to harvest were radishes, lettuce, spinach, kale and chard. I grew some of those because people said they were easy to grow, not really because I actually like eating them. In fact, part of the reason, we didn't get a CSA share this year, was because in the past we'd gotten so much kale and chard each week that I had come to dread searching for new ways to use those ingredients. Today was the day I have been dreaming about since March; harvesting things I actually like to eat. First I dug up our potatoes. It was so satisfying to dig through the dirt and find all of the potatoes under there. Unlike so many of the things that grow above the ground in the garden where you can actually see the progress, there was no way for me to know if the potatoes were going to be a success or not. Even the beets and radishes have given me some kind of indication on how they are doing as they peek through the top of the soil. But potatoes were a leap of faith and I was so happy to find about 30 regular sized red bliss potatoes and some smaller ones. Somehow in my head there would only be six potatoes since that is how many eyes I had put in the ground. Remember, this is my first foray into gardening. While I was weeding, I also noticed some of the beets were ready to harvest as well as some calendula flowers, cherry tomatoes and blackberries. I cut some basil, tarragon and kale because I had some time this afternoon to prep them for our winter kitchen. It may sound ridiculous, but I am most excited about the potatoes. If you know me, you know I love potato. If you ask my kids what they are most excited about, I am pretty sure they will say the blackberries!