Editor’s Notes: Summer Bounty!
Posted on May 28, 2013 by bob in EdNote
It’s hard to grow up in the South and not look forward to the rich bounty of summer produce so plentiful in this region. Forget the meat, it’s the vegetables we love. Whether they’re from a Farmers Market or a backyard garden or even a local “meat and three,” thinking of that first bite of a sun-ripened Alabama tomato, a sweet ear of Silver Queen corn, or a tender, freshly-cut serving of Yard Long green beans is, well, exciting.
Alabamians’ attachments to unprocessed produce goes way beyond the taste; we like to claim it as a birthright. Rich or poor, raised in the country or in a city or town, lots of us grew up on a regular diet of fresh vegetables and hot buttered cornbread or yeast rolls, served around a dinner table full of nurturing, if not always appreciated, relatives. And, almost always, someone associated with the meal was a gardener.
In our family it was my Dad. As a little girl, I remember a small vegetable patch that was simple to tend. By my late teens the once easily-managed garden had grown to a six-foot wide area that outlined the entire perimeter of our back yard. From early spring to early fall, Dad tended it with backbreaking diligence. I could never understand why, after spending 10-12 hours at work, he’d come home and spend more hours (in what certainly seemed like more work) in
his garden.
Sometimes he solicited our not-so-happily offered assistance in watering and harvesting the yards of squash, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, green beans, green peppers, green onions, and just plain “greens.” And though I complained about watering the endless rows of plants, I quietly enjoyed measuring their growth and loved Dad’s enthusiasm at the size, taste, and beauty of his vegetables. Once, the newspaper came to our house and took his picture for growing a cucumber the size of a baseball bat. Thrilled at the city-wide recognition, he saved the article for years.
This spring, I planted five Better Boy tomatoes and envisioned the fresh, delicious dishes I’d serve to family and friends around my dinner table. Stuffed tomatoes. Tomato and cucumber salad. Fried green tomatoes. Tomato pie.
Digging the holes as I planted, I thought of Dad, his love of fresh tomatoes, and his green thumb. I also remembered the hours he spent helping me, as an adult, plant flowers, herbs and vegetables in gardens of my own. I will never be the gardener he was, but his efforts are yielding a lifetime harvest of happy memories.
Happy Father’s Day to all area dads, and Happy June.
Editor Sandra Polizos
