High Summer Vegetables

It is the high point of summer with all the usual heat and humidity that is the norm for our part of the world. Where else can you get a free sauna bath everytime you just step outside. There are some hardy vegetables that are still bearing, which can be found in the local growers markets. Field peas, okra, cucumbers, butterbeans, melons, pears, figs, and summer squash, that are grown locally, can all still be found. Most local tomato patches have quit fruiting due to the heat but there will be a new crop this fall.

Another locally produced crop is our native honey, which is offered for sale at many farm stands and farmer's markets. Did you know that most store brands of honey are actually processed so they cannot be traced back to their country of origin. The honey is washed and watered down so that it does not contain any pollen and it is the pollen that marks each batch of honey so it can be traced back to where it was produced. Much of the honey sold in commercial stores is actually imported from China and may contain pesticides and toxins. Buying locally produced honey is the best way to go as you will be getting a pure product and helping a local producer as well. There is also some evidence that eating local honey can help keep the body from developing allergies to local plants and their pollens.

I put up some 2 gallons of fresh figs the other week. You have to get out early to beat the crows to them and to survive the heat. I have a good crop of pink eyed purple hull peas coming in right now along with my okra which is finally starting to bear in-spite of the constant wet weather and cloudy days.