Really Fresh Broccoli

It’s officially the first day of summer and to celebrate my husband is harvesting our first head of broccoli and it’s a beauty.
 

This is the first time we planted broccoli and I was a bit hesitant because of all the horror stories I heard about it attracting bugs and rotting before it matures.  So I consider myself lucky to be harvesting fresh broccoli from our small but ample garden.

I remember when we first moved to Oregon, it was in the summer of 1994.  We lucked out and found a little house on a quiet little street where all the families were friendly with each other and welcomed us with open arms.  

All our neighbors had vegetable gardens, which was new and exciting for me.  In Hawaii we planted a little of this and that, but never such a variety as I was witnessing in Oregon.

My kids would be out playing in the neighborhood and would come home bearing gifts of fresh lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash and even potatoes. 

But the most memorable was when one of my new neighbors let my kids pull up their own carrots. I can still see them running up the street, both of them with a freshly harvested carrot in each hand, shouting with pride, look what we grew.  I didn’t have the heart to tell them differently. 

Since then, my husband and children have planted a small garden almost every year.  And sad to say, we have never had much luck with carrots.