Monday Garden Club

Another rainy and mosquito-y week in the garden. The other night I went out to pick veggies and was attacked by mosquitoes the whole time. I was wearing long pants and a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled tight around my face but I forgot to put a long shirt on underneath. They nibbled my back between my pants and my sweatshirt until it was one big, itchy, red welt.

At least I had good reason to be out in the garden picking vegetables Friday night in the rain. I filled the trunk of my car with produce from the garden to take to the little local farmer's market Saturday morning. I ended up making $15 over 4 hours but more importantly I was able to get rid of some of my extra veggies and it was a nice opportunity to chat with other gardeners. There were 3 other vendors (mostly home gardeners who planted too much like me, and the woman we buy our eggs, chicken and pork from) there as well. It was kind of nice that we all had a variety of items that were all a little different. It must be a good year for cucumbers because there were TONS of them, zucchini too, but there always seems to be a lot of zucchini this time if year. I sold a pound of beans, 2 yellow summer squash, 3 big green peppers, a pile of tomatoes 2 bouquets of flowers and a few cucumbers. August is shaping up to be a pretty busy month for us but I would love to do it again at least once more before the end of summer. A good way to help pay for my seed!


Beans...
Sunflowers and beans amongst the carpet of weeds that has taken over my vine garden...
Peas are almost done. there are a few pods hanging yet but most of them are starting to die off.
Red okra...
This is a winter squash that has gone way off course through the sunflowers and pole beans, through the onions and on it's way to the pepper plants...
I was thinking about pulling it out but at this point the garden is kind of a free for all anyway, so I'll leave it be.
I have little patience when it comes to bell peppers. Of course I know that the red and yellow peppers are sweeter and really what I'm going for, but it seems like I could leave them hanging on the plants all summer and they still won't turn.

Ground cherries...
And because I know someone will ask what the heck they are, I'll show you. Ground cherries are in the tomato family and the plants grow huge in just a few weeks. They sort of resemble a tomatillo with a papery husk but are yellow and super sweet. The ones laying on the ground with a dry husk are the sweetest.
Just peel and pop in your mouth! I tried to cook with them last year and made a pasta sauce which was okay but they are best eaten raw. Yum!
Watermelons...

Giant pumpkins...
I made a big batch of roasted tomato basil soup using my friend and Garden Monday regular, M's recipe. So good! I roasted a bunch of tomatoes on the grill yesterday and made them into a delicious pasta sauce with zucchini and summer squash. I also made a big batch of Jenni's curried zucchini soup. Yet another recipe from another blogger! She posted the recipe on Facebook and not her blog (although her blog is always a good read!) so if anyone wants it, I could post it here. My freezer is filling up...

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:
Ma Vie Folle
Naked Opinions
Out In Them Sticks