I enjoyed the Holiday weekend with a bit of gardening, quite a bit actually, if time spent is the point of reference, not amount completed. I remain painfully slowed by my crutches, but I still managed to plant sets of Snow Crown cauliflower, Goliath and Waltham broccoli and Catskills Brussels sprouts.

I also got a nice patch of garden asters in the ground from some sets given to me by Susan. The work she and Mark did a few weeks back made it possible for me to finally get my potatoes in the ground, which included: Rose Finn Apple, Red Thumb and French fingerlings as well as a full row of Romanze, a red storage potato with gold flesh and a couple spuds of Carola. All of the potatoes were less than perfect, very sprouted and a little soft. Some of the Romanze even had mold on them, but I will hope for the best.

Perhaps I will get some more potatoes in, there are some (400 or 500 Lbs. !) at the main office that were donated by Fedco. A very generous gift to the gardeners of the region. Thank you Fedco and to all the big-hearted farmers and seed houses that donate to CDCG, making it possible for us to have access to seeds we otherwise would struggle to afford. These donations are varied enough to expose us to many unusual plants as well- last year I grew round black spanish radishes, an heirloom that isn't found in local stores that really changed my perception of what a radish was supposed to look like. They stored fabulously too, keeping well in the ground far into November and remaining sound in the crisper for nearly a month after that. I will plant more of them this year and see if by piling straw over them I can have them farther into the winter.

I have tried to remain cheerful in the face of my limitations, but I can't wait to get off crutches and really get busy in my garden. I'm a month behind where I would like to be and will have many gaps in my well-planned harvest calendar - I haven't planted lettuce in nearly a month- the cukes and squashes should have been in a while back and don't even get me started on the tomatoes! Of course we did have a frost last week so being late may just have spared me some heartache.

The race does not always go to the swift!