Hesterberg's Harvest

Fresh, sweet basil from our garden.

This past Saturday, September 26th, a dream came true for me:  I was a vendor at the Brownsville Farmers' Market for the very first time.  It seems like such a simple thing, growing produce and selling it.  Yet, a little over one year ago, I had no interest in growing anything (see my post, On How I Became a Gardener, to get caught up with that process).

Assorted basil dressing options.  As a vendor with a license, any
value-added item that is sold needs to have the ingredients
listed on the product.  

The market is a great place for mother-daughter bonding time.

I sold herbs from our garden, including sweet basil, oregano and chives.  My family and I picked them the evening before, and packaged them in one quart ziplock bags to sell for $3.00.  I did not know what to expect, so I took four bags of each to sell.  We ended up completely selling out, with the exception of the last bag of oregano, that I gave to my tent neighbors after they shared free zucchini bread samples with us.

In addition to fresh herbs, I also wanted to sell a couple of value-added items.  My friend Angela, The Master Gardener, had shared basil dressing and compound butter recipes with me before.  I had made the dressing a few times, and wanted to try my hand at the butters.  I chose to make a Lemon and Chives combination, and a Garlic and Parsley one.  Altogether, I had four of each that I sold for $2.00 a piece.  The dressings had a variety of prices depending on how many ounces they held.

Compound butter-mmmm....

Eager to arrive early and get everything set up the day of the Farmers' Market, I convinced my cute, younger sister, Erin, to help me.  There are gracious maintenance men at the market that assist vendors in setting up and tearing down.  My small group that I walk with on Saturday mornings was gracious enough to meet at Linear Park so that I could briefly exercise with them and get to work.  The whole process of me becoming a vendor took communal effort.

My sister helps set up our table.  My mom made the sign.

Once people began arriving, I was impressed by how many fellow vendors stopped by our table and inquired about our products.  It felt like we were part of a great community that hoped for the success of everyone there.  Whenever a customer passed by our table, I greeted them and asked if they wanted to try any of the samples we had on hand.  We learned a great deal in this process that will help us better prepare for next time.  Outside of completely selling out, seeing people who came to support us was the best part!

We will be back with more products in two weeks, on Saturday, October 10th.  If you would like to try some delicious basil dressing or compound butters, it is best to arrive between 9:00 and 9:45 a.m., as we quickly sold out of both!  Here's to more Farmers' Market days!

My first, official customers!  They may or may not be in my small group. 

Mr. Fletcher and I taught middle school history together years ago.
I was delighted and surprised to see him!

A sweet friend and loyal customer that has already preordered some items!

Laura was pleased with her purchase!

Even one of my piano students stopped by and bought some chives!

Autumn Glory

This was my favorite tree that sat on the corner of my duplex when I lived in Des Moines, Iowa.  This picture does not do it justice. 

Swirling, twirling, ever changing as it falls

Picked up, jumped in, tossed about, having a ball

Colors blend, orange, red, yellow and green, too

Mornings echo sounds of leaves and early dew

The smell of pumpkin and burning leaves

Windows left open, cardigan sleeves

Taste of apple cider on the lips

A cool breeze brushes the fingertips

Pigskin games on the television and outside

Jack-o-Lanterns, All Hallows Eve, a hayride

A trail that leads to a hidden paradise

Loaves of bread baked with love and a dash of Allspice

Beauty that a heart cannot contain

Autumn, in its glory, does not remain.

A bed of leaves.  I did not own a fancy camera when I lived in the midwest.  A pity.

On How I Became a Gardener

I used to have a self-proclaimed black thumb.  I had no desire to grow plants.  Whenever I was gifted one, I'd think, "Great... another one I will end up killing."  My mother once gave me a mini cactus.  It required minimal care and could be kept indoors.  That died on me, too.

Destined not to be friends with growing things, I had an answer ready for whoever asked.  "Well, it's because I'm more of a people person,"  I'd say.  "I don't care for plants."  When we bought our house three years ago, we inherited a dying garden bed of basil and tomato.  I considered turning it into a sandbox for my children.  Though I ignored it, the basil (that grows quite well in South Texas) continued to thrive.  Eventually, my family and I ate of the biannual herbs and enjoyed them.

When the basil came to the end of its cycle, we missed it.  It was during this time that my dear friend, Angela (a.k.a. The Master Gardener; read the poem I posted about her) asked if she could use our garden as "therapy."  "Sure," I thought, "why not?"  Gardening was necessary for her.  We would chat while she worked on our garden, and I would closely observe her.

She cleaned out our garden bed and turned the soil over with her own compost, and proceeded to plant some new basil.  She told me to keep an eye on it, and to water it about every other day. I learned how to properly trim it so that it would continue to grow after being harvested.

The correct way to trim basil:  look for the area where two leaves split, and trim right above it to ensure proper regeneration.

A couple of weeks later, she returned to find the basil had grown quite a bit.  "You're an excellent basil student," she said.  And that was all it took.  Before I knew it, she was asking me what else I wanted to grow.  "Be sure that you will eat whatever you plant," Angela advised.  This past year, we grew chives, oregano, parsley, tomatoes, lettuce and green beans.  Over time, I fell in love with gardening.  It became therapeutic for me, too.

This was our garden in January (you can see basil, chives, lettuce, green beans and tomato).

 
Our garden area looks different during different seasons, as does life (more on gardening, life and spiritual parallels in a future post).  Angela recently moved to Florida.  My family and I have continued the tradition of making our own compost and planting herbs and vegetables.  We planted many of the same items this year, and have added corn.  Most recently, I was overjoyed to discover that I was accepted to be a vendor at the Brownsville Farmers' Market!  I will be selling some of our basil, chives and oregano, as well as value-added items like basil dressing, pesto and compound butters (keep your eyes peeled for when that will be!).

I do not know where this journey of growing food will take me, but I am enjoying the ride!  I am convinced that people can learn how to do most anything, so long as they have a teacher that believes in them and inspires them.  Who knows? Perhaps one day I will be a Master Gardener myself.

One of my favorite things about gardening?  It's a family affair.  This is a picture of my daughter helping in the spring, shortly after she turned one-year old.