It’s THAT Time of the Season

(20Minute Jim) Tomatoes are ripening fast enough that we’re *almost* tired of eating them fresh. Almost. Summer squash are appearing on the dinner table regularly. Basil is plentiful which makes pesto as much a staple as butter. Eggplant, even the plump Italian style ones, are ready to eat. The garden is handing out its bounty almost faster than we can accept these gifts.

And of course, the garden itself is a mess.

The winter squash vines have crept over the path and are ready to over-run the cabbage. Tomato vines are sprawling over even the tallest of the cages while other tomatoes seem to be wrestling with the basil. The raspberry bushes are overdue for pruning. The mint, despite our good-natured attempts to contain it, has fully claimed the asparagus bed and the asparagus fronds are lolling over like a lazy vacationers in a hammock.

Just when I’m most proud of the garden, it’s very lush exuberance is also a bit embarrassing. When I show my friends through the garden during August, I find myself spending as much time trying to explain, say, that the Coro del Toro peppers are actually hiding *underneath* the vines of those San Marzano tomatoes and that, no we didn’t really intend to have the pumpkins take over *that* much of the fence. I’ve found myself nearly apologizing as if these over flowing beds reflect a moral shortcoming.

But I’ve decided to be easier on myself. I find that this time of year, I’m spending my 20 minutes just harvesting, maybe with a few minutes to yank up a weed or two. And that’s OK too. Our kitchen garden is a blend of process and product, of means and ends after all. Some times of the year, there’s very little “product.” It’s not that time of the season.