It’s been a rough spring. But the lettuce is growing back, the radishes are plumping up, and I harvested the first kale this morning. Yesterday, I triumphantly planted all 34 tomato plants.

I was reminded this week of the quote “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” (Audrey Hepburn). It may seem foolish sometimes, when so many things can go wrong, to put something so fragile as a seed or a seedling in the ground and expect to get something out of it. But when the harvest does come, it is so, so worth it.

Even watching the growth brings immense satisfaction – the lettuce resprouting, the radishes pushing ruby-red shoulders above the soil, the kale leaves growing ever larger, the garlic stretching its lush foliage waist high.

Tomorrow, I will be at the Broadway Community Market from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. with fresh kale, garlic salt, and a variety of practical and fun crocheted items. Come support local business owners, and practice hope with us. We couldn’t do it without you!

See you at the market!

My house smells like garlic, as do I, I am sure. Though I had all winter to accomplish the task, I am, of course, only just now making garlic salt. First I ground the dehydrated garlic (which I did manage to dry this winter), then I mixed it with sea salt, and now it is sitting in a pan in the warm oven to ensure it is fully dry. Since garlic is so sticky, garlic salt likes to clump, but this two-step drying process helps prevent that.

The garden, meanwhile, is… coming along slowly. Most of it still rests under tarps, which are (hopefully) smothering the weeds until planting time for summer crops. The spring crops have been overwhelmed by slugs, I am sorry to say. Unfortunately, this means no radishes or kale for the first market, but I am hopeful that the second batch will be ready in a couple weeks!

Speaking of the market, the opening day of the Broadway Community Market is this Saturday! Celebrate spring with your favorite vendors and some new faces from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Come closer to lunchtime to enjoy burgers and lemonade, or grab a hot drink from one of Broadway’s two new coffee shops and visit us early! (Of course, no one’s saying you couldn’t have a burger for brunch….)

Though the spring crops are disappointingly late this year, I will be set up with my crocheted items and, yes, garlic salt! I have all of my usual items, like dish cloths and flower bookmarks, as well as the new addition of crocheted produce bags. Pick up a couple this Saturday and bring them back later this spring to fill with radishes, kale, lettuce, and more. You might notice the smaller bags have smaller holes – that’s to keep the cucamelons from wiggling out later this summer!

I’m retiring some of my crocheted products, so you’ll see a few sale prices scattered around the table, too. If you’d like a cup cozy, Swiffer cover, or toy bunny, hurry out to get one before they’re gone.

See you at the market!

The garden, finally, looks something like a garden again. It is a patchwork of black tarps, cover crops, bare soil, and mown stubble, but it has a more intentional appearance than it has since early spring. And soon, garlic will be planted.

Though my market season was short this year – just a few Saturdays scattered over two months – it was a good season, and I have you all, my wonderful customers, to thank for it. Small businesses have been struggling mightily this year, and every purchase you make is enormously appreciated.

This Friday, you have the opportunity to support small makers during the monthly First Fridays event in downtown Harrisonburg. And I am honored to have been chosen as the featured artist at Ten Thousand Villages this month! I will be set up inside their store with a table of my crocheted items. So come eat out at a local restaurant and shop and enjoy artwork and music from all of the creative people set up from 5 to 7 p.m. this Friday, November 7.

I don’t have any other events planned for this fall and winter, though I might be attending a Broadway Community Market holiday popup event, so stay tuned!

See you downtown!