A garden break

Here's a little break from the trip photos to show you how the vegetable garden is looking now that it's August. We got a slow start because of all the rain we had in May and June. When I finally got a chance to set the plants out in the garden, it was hot and humid and the dirt was heavy and clumpy. And there were biting bugs all around. Yuck. It was not fun.

Three rows of green beans, peppers and eggplant in the middle, and tomatoes behind.

But I got all the seedlings in over a couple of days, and even planted a row of green bean seeds. Two weeks later, I planted a second row of beans, and another two weeks after that, a third row. We started harvesting from the first row just last week. We should have a lot of beans over the next few weeks.

Winter squash, zucchini, and kale.

We've also harvested some zucchini. This year I was restrained and only planted two zucchini plants. Normally we're drowning in the stuff, but not this time. Still, there should be plenty for the two of us. And there are winter squash and pumpkins, too, but they won't be ready for harvest for a while yet.

Swiss chard.

The cucumbers have been disappointing so far. With two exceptions, most of the fruit is very bitter. I read that this can happen if the cukes are watered unevenly. I've been watering daily through most of July, so I'm not sure what the problem is. I'm thinking I won't do cukes again next year. The summer cucumbers in the supermarket are always good and they're not expensive.

Peppers and eggplant on the left, rows of green beans on the right. And lots of weeds in between.

The eggplant and bell peppers are healthy and covered in blossoms. There are some small peppers forming now, but they still have some growing to do. We've been harvesting Swiss chard and kale for a while now, and that should continue through the end of summer and maybe into the fall.