Look! A Lemon Cucumber!

Yes, this is a lemon cucumber. Take a bite! They’re ripe when they are the size of a lemon. And speaking of fruit, there were a lot of strawberries on the vine and in the planter next to the honeysuckle in the corner. (The smaller variety near the corner are the alpine strawberries, super fruit kind.) How do the tastes compare?

Tomatoes abound too. If you knock off a green one or find one that has fallen, bring it to a sunny window and watch it get red and ripe over the next few days.(You can also leave it in the garden in a sunny spot) Lemon verbena, the herb in the middle teaching bed, and mint (in smaller green planters near the entrance and by the 1-3 bed) make a flavorful addition to a refreshing class of water.

The bright orange and red flowers in the PreK and 1-1 beds, nasturitum, are still edible, and the ground cherries are ripe once the outside husk starts to get a golden hue. They typically fall to the ground before they’re ripe (hence the name ground cherries) but they can be collected and saved for a few days until they are sweet. You’ll know that they’re ready to unwrap when the outside husk is a golden color and the berry inside turns yellow-ish. It tastes like pineapple –not tart like the premature green ones.

Enjoy the garden– and remember to check that no one has tampered with the watering timer before you leave.