Garden ketchup

I haven't said anything for a while about the garden, so I thought I would. It is doing great! I tried to take a few pictures this morning before work, but the batteries were dead in the camera. Maybe tomorrow.

Anyway, we have been picking and freezing green beans for a couple of weeks now. I planted 5 different kinds this year, trying to decide which we like better fresh and which we like better frozen. Right now, four of them are bearing. The fifth was a mistake; I thought I was planting a bush bean, but it turned out to be a pole bean. It should start bearing later this week. Currently, our favorite is Greencrop.

Over the weekend, I canned 7.5 quarts of bread and butter pickles. Based on the number of blossoms, I would say that we are looking at a goodly number of quarts. You can never have too many pickles!

The last of the peas are done now. Next year I am going to use a trellis; they will last longer that way. I had read in a book once many a year ago that they support themselves, which is true to an extent. But, the bottom part of the stems tend to sag into the dirt and rot, causing premature death. I'll plant again in August for a fall crop; row cover will keep them from freezing in October. We'll see how long we can milk the harvest.

The spinach is done; the early plantings did well, but the later ones were spotty in their germination. The broccoli is heading out; I planted it from seed, so it is later than most. I plan on making a fall planting, too.

I planted brussel sprouts from seed about a week ago; some of them are up. They are an experiment; I've never grown them before. Maybe I should have gone with plants the first time, but we'll see.

The watermelon are getting bigger. We planted two varieties this year; one is round, the other is oblong. I think we might be able to harvest a round one in about 2 weeks, but we'll see.

The raspberries are giving us about a handful of fruit a day. They are everbearing, so this is the early crop from last year's canes. The later crop is on this year's canes and is usually more prolific. I don't expect much from them, seeing as we just transplanted them this spring.

The strawberries are sending out runners everywhere. I need to direct them a bit better or we'll have strawberries on the walkway and lawn. Don't want that.

The tomatoes are setting some nice fruit. So far it is green, but soon...just not soon enough for me :)

I guess that's about it for now...of course, weeding is still going on. The grass still wants to repossess its old territory. Other weeds are minimal.

How is your garden doing?