Getting Into The Hot Days of July

written by Yvonne


Although the cabbage is coming in, it's getting eat by bugs so we may have to abandon these if we can't get the bug problem under control.

Thanks to Tom covering the blueberries with netting, we got blueberries this year!  I took them and some fresh cherries (store bought) and made a crisp.

(The color on these next two photos are off - the plants are not really this gray looking.) WE HAVE BROCCOLI!  Sure wish we knew what we did to FINALLY get them to produce the edible part.

And eat we did!  I made a mushroom broccoli stir fry and it was delicious.

In answer to your question Rebecca: Don't get me wrong - I love the broccoli and we will continue growing as much as we can. However, I'm not as knocked out by the flavor in the same way I am with our home grown carrots, tomatoes and berries. To me it didn't taste much more broccoli-y than good store bought.

Our beans ran over. The vine laying across the two beds is actually on a stake but it fell over from the weight of the vine.

These crowder peas are coming in like gangbusters.

The kale has been a great addition to our smoothies in the mornings. But now the bugs have gotten to them too much and they need to be pulled up. I know from this photo it looks like they are healthy and edible, but when you turn the leaves over, there are lots of worms and eggs (ICK) on the backs that are just too much work to clean off.

The Swiss chard on the other hand is growing, it keeps growing, and it has no bugs. I made a big mess o' chard last night for dinner.

Cucumbers are coming in at the rate of two or three per day.  Per Tom's suggestion I took two of the large baseball-bat sized cucumbers and harvested the seeds from them.  He brought up a great point which is that we are buying heirloom seeds which means the seeds can be harvest and planted over and over again - we should start doing that with as many plants as possible, instead of buying new seeds every year.

Tomatoes are just starting to flower.

Before we lose too many more plants to bugs, Tom got out his Dustructor (a piece of equipment that is supposed to be used in beekeeping, but didn't quite work for him) and showered the garden (and himself) with BT.  I think he learned his lesson and will stand up-wind next time.