Patience

I'm obviously not the first person, writer, poet or farmer with a pipe to give this tidbit of wisdom... But, gardening takes PATIENCE.  It takes patience because crops fail at any given point in the process, even after you've put months of time in.  It takes patience because sometimes the seeds don't even sprout.  It takes patience because sometimes you just have to take a deep breath when half your plant has been eaten by a critter or as I experienced today, it is very clear that a snail (or 5) has taken a slimy joy ride on your beautiful sage. 

But, patient I was in my quest for dried fava beans. 

My fava obsession started last year when I planted the variety of "Windsor Broad Beans" and ate them green in any number of varied ways and loved them.  I loved them, in particular, with farmer's market raw fresh peas swirled up in the food processor with lemon and garlic and a really good parmigiana-reggiano and then set atop a garlic toast and topped with fresh pea sprouts and bufalo mozzarella. 

But, after the incident of the mystery beans, I began to wonder if I could find myself this year with some dried fava beans in order to make Fuul.  Fuul is what began each and every day of my Egyptian trip.  It's favas, garlic, lemon, salt.  All blended up like a hummous.  And it's fresh and delicious and it brings me back to mornings at the eco lodge on the cool porch being served a boiled egg and fuul and mint tea before I would set out riding the fastest horse in the most glorious of Sea Sands.  

But, I digress....

So, this year I went ahead and planted another crop of fava beans.  The variety has long escaped me now.  And they grew less and produced less, but they grew nonetheless.  They grew and flowered and made pods and grew pods.  And then I waited.  I refrained from harvesting the plump green pods with their "fed ex" bubble wrap around each bean.  I just waited.  And waited.  Eventually I stopped watering and then cursed the rain.  But, slowly the pods turned black and wrinkled and the stalks died.  And yesterday I did it.  I took those wrinkled up old pods.

Then I didn't know WHAT to do.  So, I googled.  And I found Patrick.  Patrick has a great blog called the Bifurcated Carrot.  And despite an age old posting on favas as ground covering, he responded to my question in the comment section within a few hours.  And then answered a second set of questions.  So, a big thank you to him.  I would have left them in the pods to dry further.  And that would have been a sad ending to my game of patience. 

And so here I am with a bowl full of dried fava beans (that still have more drying and then freezing to do apparently) and some fuul is within my reach!  I suppose I should have waited to do this post until after I'd made some and posted a lovely photo for you dear reader to see, as well.

But, I didn't have the patience.....

A Run On The Garden

I took a little (slow) run today.  And when I say little, I mean it.  But still, it was further than I've gone in very long time.   I've had conflicting medical advice about whether running or anything more than yoga is okay for my poor adrenals.  I've also been told by someone else that I'm running out of fear - you know, "fight or flight".  That I'm flighting....   In some ways, I'm just starting to finally feel and look like myself again so someone else said, it was me exercising my strength and health.   I was once a little sporty warrior.  You know, back in the day....  Granted, the day was a looooooong time ago.  I think it might be a little of all of that...All of it feels right and partially true depending on the day.

But, I ended my little run  (and did I mention how little) at the garden which is always a peaceful, restful, restorative place.  I got there before the sun had hit anything more than the bright yellow, white and orange ranunculus and I cooled down in the sweet shade.

The tomatoes have jumped in height so I guess they've taken well to things.  Some of the dubious onions I got for a bargain actually came up.  The late planted garlic seems to be thriving, as well.   I even got a garlic scape today.  One cucumber seedling has gone M.I.A.   I suspect the racoon.  But the other two are growing healthy broad leaves.

The big news is that after consulting the garden manager,  I made the decision to stop watering the fava beans.  It's getting too hot and it's their time to go.  I'll let the pods dry out on the vines so I'll have dried beans to make fuul this winter.  *does happy dance*   The beans will feed me as the fava's fed that raised bed.

I gave the little plot a good soaking.  It's going to be hot today.  I came home with what I suspect will be the last cutting of flowers and some peaches from the community tree.  I feel lucky to have that little place of heaven where my adrenals and I can rest and restore.