A hearty sorry to my 2 followers out there for not posting this summer.
Our first year (so far) at gardening has gone really well. It's definitely been an ongoing lesson in patience, determination, and gentleness. Several times I've pulled up a viable plant along with the weeds. Jeremiah mowed over 1/6 of our sunflower patch because I hadn't marked the straggler flower well enough.
Not enough water, too much water. Blossom End Rot, splitting, aphids, powdery mildew, and weird insects I've never seen before have confused and frustrated me to no end some days.
But how much we have learned!
How beautiful the Okra flowers are! And Serrano flowers look like tiny Spanish dancers.
Watching a bee do its dance with the big orange pumpkin flowers or the curly purple ones on the green beans is so exciting.
Our Jack-Be-Littles are spreading out and exploring the yard. The Amish Pies may have died as their vine stalk seems to have been chewed or stomped on by something. I poured in compost and bone meal and today it has a flower, so only time will tell. I planted a couple more just in case. Next year, I want to have a whole pumpkin patch.
Our green beans have been the funnest yet. Our pole beans took a long time to come in but they are huge. Its so fun hunting for the beans. I've been able to can 17 pints and 2 quarts so far, and given away lots more.
We've pulled probably 8-10 zucchini, much less than I thought we would have so far. I've been able to make 14 pints of pickles. Most of our tomatoes are still green, but getting bigger. Al Kuffa is the kind we've been getting consistently but they are small and most of them are splitting. I've been saving them in the freezer though to make into sauces later.
We hope to add some more of these soon.
