Sugarsnap Finale

On a farm, nothing is ever static. There is constant motion -- constant changes in weather, in season, in plant growth, in farm chores. Just when you think something is in its place, it must be moved. Just when the lettuce is looking its best, it's time to harvest it and head on to something new. The beauty of each crop, each row, and each plant is ephemeral.

This week marked a number of seasonal milestones. The one that left the biggest impression on me was the sugarsnap pea finale. In other words, we took down all the trellising that had been blistering our hands for the last two months, removed the stakes, and then, sadly, mowed down what was left of the peas. Sure, they were still producing, but only a little. Mostly, their leaves and stems were brown, their pathways were overgrown with weeds, and their pods were swollen and past their prime.

The night before our good-bye, I went out in the field with my large kitchen colander and filled it to the brim, snacking on the crunchy pea pods as I went along.  When I got back to my kitchen, I washed them, pulled their strings, and stuffed them into several pint jars. If you can't have 'em fresh all year long, why not pickle 'em?

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Below is the recipe I used, which is a modified version of a recipe that originally came from The Joy Of Pickling....

       - Peas. Stuffed into two pint jars or one quart jar.
       - White distilled vinegar. 1 and 1/4 cups
       - Cold water. 1 and 1/4 cups
       - 1Tbsp. salt (or so)
       - 1 Tbsp. sugar (or so)
       - 2 garlic cloves, sliced
       - Hot pepper flakes

Add the garlic and pepper flakes to the jars of peas. Heat up the vinegar with the sugar and salt on a stovetop until dissolved. Then add the water. This will help the liquid cool down. When cooled, pour the liquid into the jars, over the peas. Put the lids on the jars. Refrigerate. Peas will be pretty pickled within a couple of days. They'll last quite a while in the fridge....unless you eat them all. They're yummy!

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So that's it for the peas. Until next year.

What else happened this week? Carrots. And eggplants. Sweet onions. Fennel. Harvests that go on for hours. Bountiful CSA shares and farmer's market stands. A sighting of a tiny baby watermelon. The fluttering of a monarch butterfly's wings. The discovery that the clover I pull out from so many beds is called lemon clover, which is edible, tangy, and delicious. The seeding of our fall plantings of kohlrabi and bok choy. The planting of two more beds of lettuce, affirming the fact that I'm much better at using the transplanter now than I was in May. The half-way point of my apprenticeship. Adding fertilizer to my personal garden, and spotting tiny zucchinis and cucumbers. Sunflowers in full bloom. Ripening cherry tomatoes and husk cherries in the field. The browning of garlic leaves, telling us they're almost ready...not quite...almost...

It's so satisfying to recognize different points in natural cycles as they occur. Last week the Japanese beetles went wild -- eating away at plants and mating like there's no tomorrow. The wild parsnip is almost ready to go to seed, so we have to make sure we chop it down before that happens.  Monarch butterflies have been joining us on the farm this week. Spiders are laying their eggs in sacs.

In nature and in human-dominated landscapes, there's no rest. Full of life, everything is changing and moving and growing and senescing. Next year, there will be more peas.