Purple Viking Potatoes - Skol!

Our first potatoes of the season have begun to poke up out of the dirt. They look like miniature purple versions of the planet Jupiter. Their white flesh is light and buttery. We'll count these as one of the gardening successes for this season. The potatoes, the homemade salsa from garden tomatoes and hot peppers, the zucchini bread soon to be baked, and the pesto awaiting grandparents' September arrival to be made from our terrific basil crop all make me say, "It worked!" In addition to the good things to eat, the butterfly garden I planted this year has brought a large number of monarchs and other creatures of the order lepidoptera to our front yard.

As summer winds down, I begin to reflect on the gardening season of 2010 and begin to plan for 2011 based on what worked and didn't this year. It turns out we're not a big fan of turnips or Swiss chard and would rather use the room for more carrots and some green beans next year. I'm still debating whether to plant some garlic yet this fall. I will also continue to figure out what to do about crop failures and low yields (why are our winter squash plants so anemic, what happened to our corn plants while we were on vacation, why are those healthy pepper plants not yielding fruit?) One thing for sure, we want more delicious things to eat right in our backyard.