Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Garden Life Link Up



So I decided to try my first "link up" with another blog, No Ordinary Homestead, after seeing some of my friends do this on their blogs frequently. Hopefully it will be a great way to invite new readers to this blog as well as expose me to new blogs. So here is my first "official" garden life update! (Here is how it looked back in May.)

This is our neighbor's raised bed that we have confiscated ;) Don't worry, we are going to share! In here we have 2 brocooli plants, one roma tomato plant (and one tom is starting to turn!), and a menagerie of yellow squash, zucchini, cucumber, and I think one pumpkin. Right now they all look the same, once they start bearing fruit I will be able to tell them apart better. Note to self: find a way to mark what is planted where better for next year!



I can hardly wait for the corn to be ready! This batch is doing well although it got beat down by a severe storm yesterday. Another area of corn is not doing as well, so I planted pumpkins there.



I was finally able to harvest some bush beans and sugar peas today. The peas have not liked the heat (note to self: plants peas earlier next year) and have not produced much, but I was happy to get a few to munch on, and they had a great flavor. We grilled the green beans with a little EVOO and garlic/herb seasoning, and while they were not bad, I just have a hard time getting into green beans. I'll keep eating them though, because you CAN change your mind when it comes to liking or not liking foods! I know from experience since I now eat many foods that I used to despise (broccoli, spinach, watermelon, salmon). I have found the trick is to eat just a few bites as much as possible and think very positively about the food while eating it. If you think a food is disgusting while you eat it, it probably will be! Reminds me of a self-fulfilling prophecy.



One of the highlights of the day was finally seeing some baby watermelons! There have been many blossoms and this was the first I have been out in the garden in a few days to see them. My apologies for the blurry pics, but I think it had trouble focusing because they are SO small right now!


My other highlight was finding pickling cucumbers that are almost ready to pick! Now I'm in a pickle (pun intended) because I have not yet decided on a pickling recipe nor do I fully have in my head how this whole canning thing works...I know I can do it, I'm just afraid the cukes and tomatoes are all going to come it at once...and most likely once I start getting ready for the school year. So here's my largest plant as well as some smaller cukes, and then finally the big daddy of them all!




5 comments:

  1. Lovely garden and WTG for taking charge of your food supply. Love the premise of the changes you are taking -- we've done much of the same ourselves, or at least are trying to. :)

    Have you tried boiling the green beans with a bit of onion, salt & pepper --maybe a bit of garlic too or ham? That's often how we make ours and they are delicious.

    So glad you linked up to Garden Life and looking forward to seeing more of your garden and garden inspiration that you have to share. :)

    Tiffany
    www.noordinaryhomestead.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Tiffany! I love how you fit growing space in every nook and cranny! I haven't tried boiling the green beans yet this year, but it just seems that no matter how they are done I'm not a huge fan. But they do go down easier knowing you grew them yourself for almost nothing :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like that last cucumber is ready to eat - yum! I miss not having cucumbers this year, but last year they were killed overnight by cucumber beetles and I just didn't have the heart or time or energy to try again this year.

    When I had my big crop the year before, though, I made refrigerator pickles and they were so easy and so good! Look those up if you want to try something that doesn't involve canning. Ours stayed in the fridge all winter and did just fine.

    Thanks for sharing (I popped over fron NOH)!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Carrie! I was going to try refrigerator pickles since I hate to can a lot of a recipe and then not like it! I hope you give them a try again, it has been so much fun watching them change! I also want to make some aqua fresca, a Mexican drink with blended cucumber, lemon, lime, water and a little sugar. It is SO refreshing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, and I did pick that cuke today, decided it was time, and I found another that was ready that I didn't see yesterday! A few others will be ready soon!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...