The bins at the CSA farm and the tables at the farmers’ markets are burgeoning with produce as summer’s bounty begins. The fragile crops of spring are fading, lettuce is bolting and we will have to wait until next year for the spring strawberries, asparagus and peas that we enjoyed so much. Even my home garden is onto the next season’s plantings as the dried vines of climbing peas are in the compost and beans are reaching up out of the ground.

This is also the season of berries and the early tree fruits. The “rumtopf” is on its third layer with the addition of sugarplums, with apricots not far behind. It’s the time for Fourth of July family picnics and pies, adventuresome grilling and canning and pickling for the pantry. Ahem, that’s true of every month, but starting now, there’s just a lot more.

Categories: Farmer's Market