Hello August! The corn is growing!
I always think August feels different.
The excitement of sowing seeds has faded, the beds are full, and the garden has settled into its summer rhythm. Every morning begins the same way. Coffee in hand, Klaus trotting beside me, and a slow walk through the vegetable garden to see what has changed overnight.
This year, I keep stopping at the sweet corn.
Back in spring it was hard to imagine that those tiny shoots would end up taller than me. Now they stand like a green wall, leaves rustling in the breeze, tassels reaching into the sky, and ears slowly filling beneath the husks. It is one of those crops that seems to do nothing for weeks, then suddenly grows before your eyes.
Standing there this morning, I realised I was no longer thinking about growing the corn.
I was thinking about preserving it.
Summer is about growing, winter starts now
That might sound strange, but this is how my mind works these days.
I rarely look at a crop and only see tonight's dinner. Instead, I find myself wondering what it will become in the pantry. Which jars will I be opening in January? What meals will remind us of this warm August morning when the rain is falling outside?
Growing food is only the first step.
Preserving it means the harvest keeps feeding us long after the season has passed.
Making a plan before the harvest arrives
Sweet corn is one of those vegetables that likes to ripen all at once. One week you are checking the plants every day, wondering if they are ready. The next week you have more cobs than you know what to do with.
I have learnt that it pays to have a plan before that happens.
Some of the harvest will go into the freezer after a quick blanch, ready to be added to soups, stews and casseroles throughout winter.
Some will be pressure canned, giving us shelf stable jars that are ready whenever we need them. Have a read about last years sweet corn preservation day
If the harvest is generous, I might even make a few batches of corn salsa. There is something satisfying about opening a jar in the middle of winter and remembering the smell of tomatoes, peppers and sweet corn on a hot summer afternoon.
Building a pantry, one harvest at a time
People often ask how a pantry slowly fills with food.
The answer is surprisingly simple.
You preserve what is ready today.
Last month it was cucumbers becoming jars of pickles.
The tomatoes are already turning into pizza sauce, salsa and tomato paste.
Soon the onions will be cured and hanging in storage.
Before long, it will be the corn's turn.
One crop at a time, one afternoon at a time, the shelves become a little fuller.
There is no rush. Just small jobs repeated throughout the growing season.
Looking ahead
There is still plenty of summer left, but August always reminds me that the seasons are changing.
The days are becoming a little shorter. The evenings feel slightly cooler. Before long I will be planting autumn vegetables while still harvesting the last of the summer crops.
That is one of the things I love most about growing food.
The garden is always asking you to think ahead.
So this morning, as I stood watching the corn sway gently in the breeze, I wasn't just admiring how well it was growing.
I was already imagining the rows of jars that will soon be lining the pantry shelves.
That, to me, is what August is all about.
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