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!