I Take It Back

Maybe I am getting better at it.  Well, it's probably not me, it's probably the good weather, but the garden suddenly exploded into life.  I've blanched and frozen several quarts of green beans.  This is the first year I've ever gotten more than a handful.  I still haven't gotten the hang of picking them at the right time.  I tend to wait too long or miss some of them hanging on the vine (they're very hard to see amongst the foliage) and then they're tough to eat.

I also blanched and froze a few dozen corn on the cob and have some waiting to be shucked.  I'll probably have another batch or two to pick in the coming days, then the corn will be done.  Maybe I'll have time for another crop of corn.  I don't know how it grows in the heat of summer.

The cucumbers continue to produce more than I know what to do with and I'm still resisting making  pickles.

The butternut squash survived the invasion of the squash bugs and, although I'm still finding some on the vines and leaves, there are far less than when the season started.  So, I'll have loads of butternut unless some other disease or pest crops up that I'm not prepared for.

Pumpkins?  I thought pumpkins were supposed to be harvested in the fall?  I followed either the Farmer's Almanac guide or my organic gardening book's guide on when to plant.  I'm pretty sure these pumpkins are ready to be picked and there are many more at different stages of development.  What does a body do with so many pumpkins and it's nowhere near Halloween or Thanksgiving?

This is some kind of melon called Canary.  I don't think I've ever seen or heard of it before.  I thought I was planting canteloupe, but it doesn't have the netted skin like canteloupe and the flesh is sort of creamy white instead of orange.  I picked one and cut it open today.  The seeds are in the middle like a canteloupe and the taste is a cross between canteloupe and watermelon with maybe a dash of cucumber.  It will be very refreshing when it's chilled.

Some critter, probably a cute little bunny, is eating the pumpkin and watermelon.  It will eat on the same one each night

until it looks like this.  Then it will move on to another young fruit.  I'm not terribly upset about it because it takes several days for one to be eaten and I have so many.  But, if it starts destroying too much of the garden, I think I'll send one of the young men out there for target practice.  Jasper Cat hangs out in the garden a lot, but I guess she doesn't stay out there at night, otherwise, she might be able to keep the bunnies away.

I read recently that watermelons need a lot of water as the vines are growing and getting established but after the watermelons get bigger, too much water will dilute the sweetness.  So, while they ripen, you need to cut down on the watering.  I have accidentally done something right.