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Old 08-08-2009, 06:42 AM posted to rec.gardens
Higgs Boson Higgs Boson is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jun 2009
Posts: 918
Default Been a good summer so far.

Tomatoes out the wazoo. Every morning I go out and pick cherry
tomatoes, and now the big ones are ripening as well. On-going battle
with squirrels. (Offering a dozen, free shipping.) Enveloped some
big T's in
netting that so far is working OK. In another area, enclosed the
cluster of big T's in plastic bags (with a few holes pierced). Undid
plastic bags and harvested a few; seem to have come through OK.

(No time limit on squirrel offer.)

Corn is superb this year! I never make it to the kitchen. Just shuck
the ear and devour on the spot. SO sweet!
Got enough sense, finally, to plant succession, so should be
harvesting for months, ojala.

Cucumbers... can't keep ahead of them...giving away to neighbors left
& right. Looked for cucumber recipes in a couple of cookbooks, but
didn't find anything suitable. This year, planted the so-called
"pickling" cukes, and like them much better. Got a great, crisp bite
to them. Also lemon cukes, but they're slower to come along.

Went through several pickings of yellow wax beans before I ripped out
the vines and put in my first lima beans.
Never grew them before; looking forward. I interspersed them among
corn stalks, having always heard that
indigenous people knew about complementary amino acids long before us
white folks.

Carrots starting. Wasted time with some bad seed before buying
fresh. Grrrr!

Green onions starting as well. I'm nervously eyeing the last
survivors of previous crop. Can't eat them fast enough; hope they
won't go to seed before I finish them. Giving away to neighbors.

But the Big News this year is MELONS!!! Cantaloupe! My first time!
They are sprawling all over the lawn, practically charging out of
their planting bed. Rather than construct vertical supports when I
realized where this was going, I am just letting them sprawl. Have
spread some sheets of cardboard partly to keep the grass down (didn't
work) and partly to keep the melons from (maybe) rotting from grass/
dirt contact. Is this
unnecessary? Like I said, my first time.

Heavenly breakfasts of tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, hard-boiled
egg, cold cooked red potatoes, celery, Israeli feta cheese, with light
dressing of walnut oil, lemons from the tree, a soupc,on of Maille
mustard a l'ancienne, salt & pepper. Accompanied by slices of Trader
Joe whole grain bread.

Yup, been a good summer so far g

Persephone