Saying goodbye to winter clothes

Ihold on to some winter clothes till the last possible minute or degree. I keep some winter clothes in my closet in the dim hope that an Arctic Express will come roaring down upon us delivering much needed cool. Guess I won’t need those ski caps or insulated gloves till next winter, and, even then, I don’t need insulated anything in the Valley. Chilly weather now is when it drops from 107 to 95 after the sun sets.

My favorite movie this time of year is, “The Day After Tomorrow.” New York City looks like one of those Coors beer commercials, all icy and below zero. The only part I don’t like is when the survivors are burning books to stay warm, although it’s ok if they are “how to books.” “How to lose weight,” “How to make a million dollars,” “How to vote like a dummy in the USA.”

But otherwise I like to see pictures of really cold places once our temps travel above 100 degrees. Seems as though that’s happening sooner each year, but that could just be my imagination.

So the mornings are the time to get out. Today I harvested some cherry tomatoes, the last of them. I

t’s too hot for most tomato plants to flower. Vince was harvesting okra which is coming on. Okra loves the heat as do peppers. Zinnias, basil and squash are also doing well. One of the best gardening activities I can do in this heat is plan next season’s garden and order seeds. If you are in the market for seeds, check out Renee’s Garden, (www.reneesgarden.com).

We had an interesting conversation about local and sustainable food sources. Vince filled me in “on hyper food sourcing.” It’s a relatively new concept about closing the gap between food services and the food source. So if a restaurant wants to be a “hyper-local restaurant” they need to be growing food in their backyard or nearby. This is popular in places such as Brooklyn and San Francisco.

Rooftop gardens are necessary in crowded cities, and I’ve seen amazing photos on the web of people gardening on the rooves of warehouses converted into condos, six floors above ground. My folks’ house in Brooklyn always had a leaky roof so the energetic, young urbanites must do lots of waterproof lining of the rooftops. Either that or they do the El Centro Walmart fix of setting out dozens of buckets whenever it rains hard.

The State Street Coffee House in El Centro closes the garden to table gap in that it grows tomatoes, basil and other edible plants in raised beds in back of the coffee house.

In addition, the coffee house sells Holtville honey. Marcella’s locally raised veggies are sometimes available at Strangers West, 605 Main St., El Centro. Check with them about availability. Local food sourcing means that what is seasonally available is what you get.

We’re lucky in the Valley since land is one commodity we are rich in. Most residential and commercial properties have a back or side yard in which to fit a garden.

I’m experimenting with a raised bed for the first time since most of our backyard is cement. I’m happy to report that eggplant and tomatoes are doing well.

Valley schools have large areas in which to plant. Check out the Harding School garden at the corner of 7th Street and Hamilton. Vince put in raised beds about two years ago with a grant from the Methodist Church.

The produce and flowers just pour out of there, and the children have a garden classroom teaching them arithmetic and science. There is so much people can do locally, but it requires dedicated, paid staff. Don’t pile it on the teachers who already have plenty to do.

So think about your vegetable garden plans for the fall season. Do not be fooled by big box store displays and ads. Our seasons are uncommon and are just about the opposite of “national” seasons. Also, if you know of other “hyper local” restaurants, drop me a line.