This has been an almost catastrophic gardening year for me:
first we had a disastrously cold and wet spring - I think
this is true throughout the whole northeastern USA. We had
a stretch of more than six weeks without a single sunny day.

Then I had what-turned-out-to-be bursitis of the hip. I
couldn't walk without extreme pain for six weeks (it took a
fairly long time to be diagnosed, being something totally
unexpected), and I did not even get out to the garden for
all of June and half of July. (The bursitis is gone now.)

So a lot of things were planted very, very late and
maintenance of the garden was sketchy at best.

My husband did what he could, but isn't knowledgeable -
although he's far more so now than he was earlier this year!
He had his hands full with other things anyway, as I
couldn't cook or clean or do much of anything without pain
for quite a while.

Then we had two hot weeks, and we've had a surplus of rain
most of the rest of the summer. Nevertheless...

FINALLY...abundance! It's lovely.

Today's harvest:

* 8 patty pan squash
* 6 yellow crookneck squash
* 9 zucchinis
* a laundry basket full of (large) tomatoes
* 2 cucumbers
* a 5-gallon pail full of Swiss chard
* a large colander full of cherry tomatoes
* basil
* a large colander full of string beans: half purple and
half yellow
* 1 green pepper


We gave some of the squash and tomatoes to a neighbor, and
are selling some of them: they're already spoken for and
will be picked up tomorrow. Our local supermarket is
charging $1.49/lb for zucchini! In August.
Unbelievable. I can't believe that they're actually selling
much of it at that price.

I'll freeze the chard for winter eating. We'll have some of
the string beans tonight, and I'll freeze the rest of them.
I dried tomatoes yesterday, and will probably dry more later
on this week. I dried shredded zucchini yesterday also - it
can be rehydrated and used in meatloaf, pasta sauce,
zucchini bread, etc.

I am continually amazed at how little work it really takes
to produce so much good food using either raised beds or
container gardening.

Pat
--
"Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of
supply and demand. It is the privilege of human beings to
live under the laws of justice and mercy." - Wendell Berry