what’s in season
SUMMER
Ripe and ready produce growing in the Reno-Tahoe region.
COMPILED BY JANA VANDERHAAR
PAINTING BY ERIC BROOKS
May
Asparagus, beets, broccoli rabe, cabbage, carrots, chard, chives, collard greens, Daikon radishes, dandelions, fava beans, green onions, kale, leeks, lettuce mixes, parsley, peas, rhubarb, spinach, strawberries (early), and turnips
Note: At the end of May or early June, sow and transplant warm-season crop seedlings outdoors.
June
Beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chard, collard greens, Daikon radishes, fennel, green onions, kale, leeks, mint, oregano, parsley, peas, radishes, rhubarb, rosemary, rutabagas, strawberries, tarragon, thyme, and turnips
July
Beets, chard, cucumbers, dill, fennel, garlic, garlic chives, green onions, leeks, mint, onions, oregano, parsley, potatoes (new), rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme, and turnips
August
Basil, blackberries, bulb onions, bush and pole beans, corn (sweet), dill, eggplants, garlic chives, grapes (table), ground cherries, Hearts of Gold melons, lavender, marjoram, mint, oregano, peaches, pears, peppers, plums, raspberries, rosemary, sage, summer savory, summer squash, tarragon, thyme, tomatillos, tomatoes, watermelons, and zucchinis
Featured Artist
Eric Brooks relocated to the Bay Area in 2001 after spending the previous three years traveling. The newness and solitude of those months can be seen in his work, which is already known for intense, expressionist characterizations of emotion through varying layers of color and heavy texture. Brooks also uses the Ernstian technique, eclaboussage — turpentine and other solvents dropped onto fresh canvas or intermittently throughout the painting process, which suggest direction, orientation, motion, and energy of a dynamic entity. Brooks uses many types of paint, along with found objects in his abstracts.
“I try to focus attention on an element of an image rather than the image itself,” Brooks says, “deconstructing into lines, shapes, color, and texture. With the increased use of abstraction, I try to convey values, sentiment, and emotion outside the acquired habits of perception. These paintings blend beauty and deformity while letting you pick and choose which is in control. Every piece is unique in what it holds and what it hides.”
