"Hotter Than A Sinner In Church"

Summer has finally decided the let us all know that it is here. While daytime temperatures are soaring upward, threatening to break the century mark, evening temperatures are...well they're not doing much of anything to help cool us down. Forecast for the rest of the week is promising, with the onset of a delta breeze and subsequent cooler temperatures. I know I will enjoy it, and so will our garden.

This afternoon, needing a little time to unwind from the day, I sent myself out into the garden. I started, as usual, with the corn. Most of the stalks are well over 6 feet tall now, and have developed tassels. Some even appear to be developing ears. We are really looking forward to having some fresh corn this summer, and if our daughter like fresh peas, I think fresh corn is just going to blow her hair back!

Working my way around the garden, giving each section of vegetables a long soak of water, I was tickled to find that we had four cucumbers ready for harvest. Three of which are the perfect size for pickling, and other...well let's just say it's not going to last that long in our kitchen.

The Jolly Green Giant (aka zucchini plants) have managed to provide us with yet two more zucchini, and looks like there are at least half a dozen more on the way. I think this year we've already harvested at least two dozen zucchini. Last week we even shared some with our next door neighbor as a "thank you" for watering our garden while we traveled back to Iowa, and one of my wife's friends. I though of her as our very own Postage Stamp Garden Ambassador. For her first time in this position, I think she did very well. So well in fact, our neighbor came out into his yard, poked his head over the fence and offered to share his bumper crop of plums. SCORE! Last year when I mended the fence between our two homes, I made a sampling of the fruit (yes, I had permission). They are very good plums. I'll have to figure out a way to preserve them too.

The pea plants are still chugging away, providing our daughter with at least half a dozen pea pods every other day. I have never seen her go that crazy about a particular food with the exception of her milk. Our sweet baby girl is so funny when it comes to milk, or as we like to refers to is as the white nectar of the Gods! One would think the world is running out of the white stuff, with the way she pounds it down. And don't fool yourself, she know whole, from 2%, from skim, and as we have learned if it ain't at least 2%, don't even bring it to the table. With that all said (and having diverged from tell you ll about the garden) she is staring to ask for water more often as she's growing, but if those "milk does a body good" commercials have any truth to them at all...I'm going to be a very...very...very busy daddy, putting the fear into the hearts of all those poor boys who come around.

The tomato plants have a few green fruits developing on them, and so many more flowers lying in wait. Maybe the summer heat will help move things along. Similarly, our jalapeno and poblano pepper plants have produced one or two fruits, and a mess more flowers, but nothing to set our tongues on fire yet.

The beets are about two-inches in diameter now. The white onions are between a nickel and quarter in size. The two basil plants are enjoying their new digs, after being freed from their pots. Our Kentucky green bean finally realized that is was time to start growing, along with the brussel sprouts. We have one baby dixie summer squash growing, and probably two dozen butternut squashes growing on the vines. Which, by the way the butternut squash plants are really trying to give our zucchini plants a run for the title of "largest postage stamp garden plant of 2010". The vines are running everywhere, and anywhere there is space.

Another surprising development has been our black bean bushes. For the longest time these plants have had the smallest purple flowers on them, but no beans, that is until today. The summer heat had wilted the plant slightly, and looking inside I would four or five dozen, two to three inch green bean pods. Looks like they have a way to go yet, but I thought it was promising.

What a great day. Amazing what a trip to the garden can do for you.

More Peas Please

Just a quick note, while weeding the garden this afternoon, I harvested four ripe pea pods. I brought them inside and split them open. Our daughter came up to me, to investigate, and exclaimed "Peas!". I ask, "Do you want some?" Eyeing the small dull green balls in the palm of my hand, she quickly grabbed two of them and tentatively place them to her lips, then looked at my for my reaction. "It's okay sweetie, eat'em" I told her. At that point they quickly disappeared into her mouth. Suddenly her eye light up, and she came back over to me for more. Today we learned that our daughter like fresh pea from the garden. (sigh...) Life is good.

Make Sure To Stop & Smell The Blossoms

Excited as to what new developments I might find, I made it a priority to walk through our garden this morning. Honestly, I was very curious if some of our zucchini were ready to be harvested, alas there are not. Instead I found one of the squash flowers open, which I can't ever remember seeing before; they've always been closed. Neat!

Zucchini Blossom

Dixie Summer Squash Blossom

Earlier last week, I transplanted both of our dixie summer squash plants, which were

inevitably going to be over taken by the Jolly Green Giant. I decided to move

them into the radishes old spot. After replanting them, I trimmed back the larger of the two, and snipped off its first blossom, hoping that would help. The days following were looking a little sketchy, with the leaves looking all droopy, but this morning we have a new blossom. I think there is hope yet.

Cucumber Blossom

Also flowering for the first time are our cucumber plants, actually just one of them. I'm sure that more are soon to follow. I'm looking forward to the possibility of making our own pickles from the cucumbers, I hope will coming soon. Pickling is something we've never done before, but sounds like something we can figure out. I sure like most things, you learn by doing.

New Trellis

Lastly, I wanted to showcase the pea trellis my daughter helped me construct with some left over pvc pipe, chicken wire, and zip-ties. The original trellis (which still remains) was quickly overgrown by the series of pea plants surrounding it. So, one morning I decided to construct an additional trellis, but things being the way that they are, did not want to spend much (if any) money to do so. Well, lucky for us, I had spent many afternoons

repairing the sprinklers along our driveway...oopps, and had about 12 feet of pvc pipe on hand. The chicken wire meshing has been hanging around our house, almost since we bought the place. I had used some of it to build my own dirt sieve. With MacGyver like mad skills (just kidding, I didn't use any duct tape) we constructed this simple "H" frame trellis. Very simple, works, and I like it.

One Zuchini, Two Zuchini, Three Zunchini, more...

The weather is finally warming after a very prolonged spring. Never would we have thought that the local Sierra-Nevada ski resorts would re-open over the memorial day weekend. Personally we're not thrilled with the onset of the summer heat, but it's doing great things to our garden. Most noticeably our zucchini plant has transformed into the Jolly Green Giant, overshadowing many of its neighbors. A couple of nights ago while our daughter and I were watering the garden (apparently daddy looked thirsty too), I noticed that we had several beautiful yellow-orange blossoms flowering under the massive broad deep green leaves of our jolly green giant. Two nights later, to my surprise we had 3 to 4 inch long squash's. I think tomorrow they will be ready for the plucking. Now, what to do with them? Everything I've read and everything I've heard, suggest that zucchini plants produce quickly and throughout much of the growing season. In other words get ready for some zucchini.

Last night while surfing the internet,

I came across the Nature's Harmony Farm (out of Elbert Georgia) blog. The sites' author states that he/she loves "the chapter in Animals, Vegetable, Miracle that talks about

how country people never lock their car door unless it's zucchini season for fear that someone might put a bag

of excess zucchini in your front seat!"

Too funny!

Other than the jolly green giant, ourpeas plants are doing well, treating us to our first fresh...off the vine... pea pod. Eew-wee, was it sweet. Our cucumbers are starting to kick it up a notch; the corn in way beyond knee high (by the fourth of July); and the tomatoes and pepers are give our black bean bush a run for its money. This is awesome!

Ding! Radishes Are Done!

What an exciting and rewarding surprise, our radishes were ready to be harvested today. I was surprised to discover just how fast radishes grew. Since sowing them in april, it has taken them forty-one days to mature. After an afternoon spent in the garden doling out some TLC, and with a huge smile on my face, I ran my fingers under the muddy soil (just finished watering), extracting each of the bright red roots. I felt like a kid on a very muddy easter egg hunt. It was fantastic. A very happy and rewarding moment to say the least. Now, we can't wait for the rest of the garden to catch up. Pictured below are our freshly harvested radishes. Shown in the picture is about half of our total crop.