One of the few benefits to a cool, wet summer is how great the cool weather crops grow. Okay, I’m inclined to say this is the only benefit to a cooler than normal summer. Nonetheless, if you love harvesting fresh peas, non-bitter or bolting lettuce and arugula into August, this has been your kind of summer in north Idaho.
The sugar snaps are fat, super sweet and best consumed right off the vine (most don’t make it into the house). For those that do, our second favorite is tossed in a salad of garden lettuce with goat’s cheese or lightly sauteed in a little chicken stock. Yum!
I just planted a third crop of lettuce, a spicy mesclun mix, along with more arugula. Even if the dog-days of August arrive, these crops will be fine and will take us into the early fall.
The cooler weather has the tomatoes a little smaller, but there are lots of greenies and I did manage to pick my first delicious, mini burst of summer delight, Sun Gold Cherry tomato the other day — with lots more waiting in the wings for Mr. Sun to kiss upon.
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