I’ve been shaking my head in despair all summer over news of extreme drought in the West, and now we’re getting a taste of it here. Not just the garden but even some shrubs and trees have looked disturbingly droopy this past week in the absence of any good, soaking rain (we had a five-minute tease one evening). I’ve been watering the garden, of course, and praying for rain – perhaps this afternoon, according to the forecast.

In happier news, the tomatoes have finally begun to ripen, with some just beginning to blush and others almost ready to slap on a sandwich. Mmm. I have one tomato in particular that seems to be striving to become the largest tomato I’ve ever grown … it’s huge!

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The second planting of bush beans also surprised me this week by already beginning to produce, so I will actually have beans at the market tomorrow! I also still have an abundance of zucchini, including some lovely large ones that would make great zucchini bread or soup (I found a zucchini chowder recipe in Simply in Season that’s particularly good!). I’ll likely have more basil and rosemary, too, and if I’m feeling impatient, I might pick a few almost-ripe tomatoes for some lucky folks to set in the kitchen windowsill!

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I also want to thank all of you for the overwhelmingly positive response to Fairydiddle Farm Hot Salt. I only had a small batch to begin with, but enthusiastic customers reduced my supply to a single jar by the end of the market last Friday! Now I’m trying to coax the jalapenos into growing faster so I can make more …

Pray for rain with me (and a jalapeno growth spurt), and I hope to see you at the New Market Farmer’s Market tomorrow afternoon! The forecast is promising a beautiful day.

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I’ve had an overwhelmingly busy couple weeks juggling writing and editing projects as well as squeezing in some gardening time, so I’m super excited to be able to finally share a new product with you: Fairydiddle Farm Hot Salt! This all-purpose condiment is made with pink Himalayan salt and a blend of habanero and jalapeno powder from last year’s peppers. It goes well on just about anything – in fact, I don’t think Paul (my husband) ever uses plain salt anymore, and this hot salt has earned a regular place on my parents’ table.

A limited number of bottles are available from this first small batch of hot salt, so come on out to the farmer’s market tomorrow to snatch one up! In a few weeks, once the jalapenos in this year’s garden have ripened, I will have some more hot salt for you.

In other news, bean production has slowed down thanks to an invasion of Mexican bean beetles. Several organic control methods exist, but one that I’ve found works pretty well is succession planting. As the first bed of bush beans succumbs to the bean beetles, the second bed is flowering, which means that after about a week’s reprieve from picking beans, we’ll have another bountiful crop come in. And when this second bed begins to decline, the first bed should have recovered enough to begin producing again.

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So, I will have hot salt, green beans, and more zucchini at the New Market Farmer’s Market tomorrow, along with handknit and crocheted items and notecards featuring Paul’s photography. It looks like we will have some lovely weather, too, so come visit the market and maybe stroll through downtown as well.

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I only harvested a modest amount of summer squash last year, but the tender gray zucchini I’m growing now is a prolific producer! Thankfully, there are myriad ways to use it. Last weekend, my family made some delicious chicken parmesan with zoodles, and we’ve also been eating zucchini stir-fry and burrito bowls. Zucchini bread is a great quick breakfast or healthy snack, and adding chocolate chips or berries makes it extra tasty. When local sweet corn ripens, I’ll whip up a pot of rich, creamy zucchini chowder. What’s your favorite zucchini recipe?

The beans have also come on full force, and I find that I enjoy the slow, intentional pace of picking beans in the garden. It allows me to focus on what’s right in front of me while listening to birdsong and the groundhog family conversing in the brush pile nearby.

So, of course there will be plenty of zucchini and beans at the market tomorrow! I also plan to bring some fresh basil, perfect for making pesto or tossing with sautéed beans or zucchini. Although the tomatoes are still green, they’re plumping up nicely and look like they might start blushing any day now!

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