Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Garden Update

Well, I'm late again. I know, shocking. Yesterday I woke up with a headache from hell that I'm convinced was a result of minor case of dehydration after spending all day Sunday outside working in the yard. I'm feeling much better now but I have to admit that at this point in the season, I'm a bit overwhelmed by how much work the garden is. Not only am I caring for the garden outside, I have to do something with all of the food I pick from it to store for the winter. Not always the easiest thing to make myself heat up the hot water canner when it's 85 degrees and humid. Even the blanching I did today warmed up the house more than I would like.



The second round of raspberries will be ready soon! All of my raspberry plants (both red and gold) fruit twice a year. Binny was thrilled when she learned this little bit of information.
The second round of radishes I planted a few weeks ago are now ready. I may even have time for one more crop of those if I get out there and plant them this week.

The beans were the big producer this week and are still climbing very nicely up the sunflower stalks. I'm wondering how tall the beans will climb.

The sunflowers are all taller than me already!

Binny loves to help in the garden especially when I let her use a sharp knife to cut the veggies off the plants.



She also likes to pull the root vegetables. It's hard to convince her to leave some of the onions in the ground when she can see them sticking up through the dirt. Way too tempting for a young gardener.

These little shits...are taking over parts of all three garden sections. I guess it's a good year for winter squash.


My peppers must have read last week's blog post about how they refuse to turn red.

I went out to pick veggies last night after dinner hoping that it would be a bit cooler, but it wasn't, and the mosquitoes were TERRIBLE once again even after I coated myself in bug spray. By the time I finished picking, it was dark and the constant bug swatting and scratching (yes, I'm a scratcher) was getting to be unbearable. I don't think I could have piled one more bean on top anyway.
Today I blanched and froze a quart bag of carrots (from my father-in-law's garden) and a gallon freezer bag full of beans. I still have broccoli to process that I've been collecting over the past week and I'm thinking I'll use it to make broccoli cheese soup. But again, this is not what I would consider soup weather. I just can't get in the mood.
So what is ready in your garden this week?


Now for all you gardeners out there who wish to participate, either leave a comment on what's growing in your yard, or post a Monday Garden Club update on your blog. Don't forget to drop your link in the comments and I'll add it to this post.


Participating Blogs:
Out In Them Sticks

7 comments:

sheila said...

I missed it this week. I'm frustrated with my garden. Your onions are frickin huge! Mine are like for barbies. What the hell? lol

Riot Kitty said...

Yum yum! Glad you are feeling better. Dehydration is a bitch.

Out in Them Sticks said...

I probably have a garden half, maybe 1/4th your size and I've given up maintaining half of it!! It's a lot of work with all of that weeding and then the preserving on top of it. I can't imagine how hard you are working! Wow, I will definitely not be expanding next year with baby coming.

Well, I was going to say there are probably better cobbler recipes out there. The only thing that makes this one different is that it is just so easy, the satisfaction is great. It's good for the lazy cook, especially if you use canned. You might want something a little more special for your fresh peaches or you might be exhausted and in need of a break, lol?

Typical Suburban Family said...

Can we trade gardens??? Mine isn't doing so great anymore. I'll do a garden update later this week. Catching up from being on vacation in Wisconsin and without internet for over a week!

Ashley said...

Looking good! I made soup last night too, which felt really weird considering it is 95 degrees outside! But I made zucchini tomato soup and stuck in the freezer. Might sound good in another month or two!

I just learned the raspberries come out twice a year too! Nice little suprise!

rose silver said...

Bountiful harvest of yours is great! All of your plants are awesome. They are so yummy in the photos. The watermelon is so big and I can’t wait to have my watermelon grow as big as that.

Isabella Diaper said...

5 Stars! Your garden is just wonderful! Spacious, have a lot of sunlight and air and really humid! I love it. perfect gardening place! Thanks for sharing this post. Now, I am thinking of looking for a place with a bigger backyard for my gardening space. Really, your garden is the best that I have seen to date.