I'm back, and just in time for the good stuff!

A long trip to Arizona for work... but I'm back!

So, while I was gone, the first two tomatoes ripened. They are an heirloom variety called 'Striped Cavern'. I stuffed them with sauteed peppers, onions, fresh (from the garden) basil, and corn, baked at 400F for about 10 minutes, and we enjoyed stuffed tomatoes. We served it with rice, broccoli, and italian soysage. Tasty. [Sorry if my one word sentences bother you.]

When I got home, two more yellow squash were ready, with a white scalloped squash not far behind. Another 1/3 of a gallon of green beans... with a new big harvest probably next weekend, when I will likely can a batch. The onions are almost ready to die... it has gotten too hot for them. Dang. So, tomorrow or the next day, I will have to dig them all up, freeze some, use some with the beans or squash, etc. I love onions, even if they are small.

This morning I went to Gardner Farms in Locust Grove, which is less than 40 miles from home. They have a pick your own for peaches, blueberries, and blackberries. Unfortunately, blackberries were getting in season when I left, peaked while I was gone, and are gone from pick your own farms in Georgia now that I am back. But on a happy note, Kroger had a sale on Georgia grown blackberries this week. $1 for 6 ounces of berries. I bought 5 containers, and already made some sugar free jam (same recipe as the strawberry mentioned previously, but using blackberries instead).

I picked peaches (they sell a 4.5 gallon bucket for $12, which is WAY cheap). When I called to see what they had today, they told me it was the last day for pick your own peaches. I then decided to go immediately... so quick I forgot to bring cash. Fortunately, there was an Ingles down the road and I got a fresh Georgia watermelon for $4, with $30 back to get peaches, blueberries, and shop in their little store.

I also picked blueberries. I am not a huge fan of blueberries, and I am not sure why. For me, they have to be the really big juicy ones that are really fresh, or I'm just not at all interested. They were mainly for my sweetheart, and for $4, I got about a quart or so of berries, and as she and I do not like them baked in anything, frozen, or anything but maybe mixed with yogurt, that was more than enough.

They had a little "roadside" stand, where I bought 4 good sized cucumbers ($2), a medium sized eggplant ($1), and a small basket with two bell peppers and a bunch of banana peppers (50 cents). I think that was a great deal for about $20.

So, all in all, this is all the local produce (minus the watermelon) that we have right now...

End of June Garden Update

Wow, lots to update, just on the garden.

1. Carrots. I've thinned them, but there are still a few that are clumping. I pulled one today (smallest of a large clump), and it was 4.5in long! They are growing well. (Somedays, you have to take a measuring tape with you to photograph stuff).

2. Tomatoes. Wow, they are growing great. I had to use bamboo stakes to extend the height of my tomato cages! The tallest, a Red Plum Variety, measures in at 6ft, 1 in. It's the tallest member of our family. The vines all are making green tomatoes, and I hope they will wait to ripen until I get back in town a week from Tuesday.

3.Beans. I think I am close to 1.7gallons of snap beans collected. That's a lot. Maybe I planted too many.

4. Summer Squash. The battle is on, and I am much more on the winning side than I was last year. That's right. Squash bugs. Or, at least what I am calling squash bugs. (I think there are about ten+ kinds of bugs that all do the same thing to squash vines - kill them. Last year, I lost all my vines after only a few squash. This year, I have already harvested that many squash (Did you see my harvest counter to the left?) and the vines are still healthy! I am going out 2-3 times per week, picking off all the bugs I can find, and then killing them with my foot. Spraying water laced with pepper and garlic helps deter them, and this week I started putting small containers with a mixture of 2 tbsp molasses, a splash of cider vinegar, and a pint of water out. It attracts some of them, and then they get stuck in the water. But, we have squash growing!

5. Berries. I have a few berry plants, and my wife and I have been enjoying the occasional fresh raspberry, blackberry, or strawberry. There's never enough at once to make anything, but they taste good. But, since they are young plants, the berries are all small...

6. Peppers. The bell pepper plants are slowly growing, and maybe starting to show signs of peppers. One of the cayenne pepper plants is amazing. It must have 50 baby peppers on it... yum, spicy goodness.

7. Herbs. Well, the herbs are growing. The large amount of basil I planted seems to be sprouting and doing well. Rosemary, parsley, oregano... They will go well with those tomatoes!

Well, there is bound to be a huge harvest soon. I'll keep you posted!

It's Planting Time!

Bandit's partner in crime is, I believe, no longer part of this world. I never knew a rat could eat that much poison.

I have been planting the garden. YAY!

I planted some sunflowers that I started from seed in the neighbor's greenhouse. I also planted green, yellow, and burgundy beans (seeds). All of these were bush beans, as pole beans a) go crazy and b) don't taste as good. Then I planted some sweet dumpling squash, a lot of zucchini, yellow squash, and a few scalloped squash that I started in the last two weeks. I also planted some cayenne peppers, heirloom tomatoes, and started planting bell peppers.

So, I would like to send a kudos to the Oakhurst Community Garden. I went to their annual plant sale with my beautiful wife today. I got 5 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, two varieties of peppers, red basil, and two eggplants. I like how all their plants are only $1 or $2. I can't believe that if I go to Lowe's or Home Depot, plant prices surge to $3.50 per plant! And those don't taste as good!

I think I still need more bell pepper plants and jalapenos, but the rest of the garden is set. Only a few more plants to plant, and we are all planted for the summer.

I'll post some pictures in the next few days when it isn't dark as I remember to take pictures.

A bit of humor, this week's goals, and a delicious dinner

I came home from Washington, DC to find this on the fridge for me...

It is so true... starting and keeping a garden is no small commitment. You invest time and money into making the garden, and then you need to upkeep in order to continue to enjoy it. In the case of herbs, you can enjoy both the looks and tastes of the garden.

So, it's January. It is officially time to put together the list of things to grow this year. I received a catalog from "Gardens Alive" last week. They have a $25 coupon for any order, so I plan on trying some of their products for free and ordering this week.

The neighbors and I are going to most likely order some heirloom vegetable seeds next week. Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Beans, Peppers, Eggplant, and a side of deliciousness.

On a side note, we made homemade tacos. Correction, my beautiful bride made tacos tonight. Featured in them were peppers either from our garden or the neighbor's that we froze a month or two ago. The soy we cooked up as the main protein with about a half pint of tomatoes that I canned last summer. Also, I put some peach salsa on them. I made and preserved this last summer... I went and picked the peaches, and then made the salsa with peaches, tomatoes, and peppers from our garden. YUMMO!