Oversized and unrecorded

I picked these all a bit early as the low fruit are getting hit by chipmunks, and the brandywine was so huge it was in danger of destroying itself on the support it was growing beside.  I suspect in another week we'll have more regular fruit.

The zucchini are another story, tons of rain, and though I swear I am picking at least every other day, they are getting ahead of me.  Way ahead. And I didn't even mention the long cucumber dilemma that I have.  At least friends and neighbors will eat those.

Brandywine!

Italian Heirloom

A wee squash problem - those are supposed to be 8-ball sized!

Despite the scale shown, one change this year is that I am NOT recording harvest weights this year.  I do highly recommend this, I have weighed and documented almost everything that came out of the garden for the past 2 years and it's very helpful.  I have a much better idea of how much we need to grow, and when to expect a wave of ripe fruit.  But relaxing the bean counting is also a really nice change.  Its been a summer of less lists and calculations, more enjoying the moment and trusting instincts.  I guess after a few years of practice, I am taking off some training wheels*.  It feels good. 



Not to say the scale isn't used at all--and there is a moderate amount of planning going on.  I keep a garden journal, so I will have an informal record of when I plant and harvest, notes about the weather, etc.  This week I sat down and looked at last year's inventory of preserved foods, (and current overstock) and made a target goal for how much salsa to can, how many packs of tomato sauce for the freezer, etc.   One goal from last year I've happily accomplished:

finally, a good year for pickles here.

There are more of these coming, but I'm pleased with the progress so far!

* I should probably add, as this was not the best analogy, that my lack of record-keeping does not mean I'm some kind of expert.  In fact, real experts, and professional farmers, have to keep huge amounts of records to do their job well.  To me its another benefit of small-scale growing, that I can blow off a year and relax a little, and not risk very much in doing it.  But I am happy to have a few years of growing under my belt, that makes coasting for a year a lot easier.