Checkin' Out The Produce

I love taking pictures of my garden almost as much as taking pictures of my kids. I went out today and took all sorts of pictures of what's growin' in the garden.

The pumpkin vines and leaves have been getting rather large and finally I have found signs of fruit. I planted a miniature pumpkin that has short vines that produce heavily. Each fruit should make enough filling for one pie. Here is the first and largest so far this season. Not much to go on yet but with proper care, there will be many more!

The zucchini are just beside the pumpkins and aren't much more ready to pick. We haven't had much rain so everything is either hand watered or it dies. I try to get out to water early in the morning before it gets to hot. The pumpkins and zucchini are shaded in the early afternoon, so the sun doesn't bother them as much as some of the other plants.

My lettuce has bolted and I let it go to seed. The hot sun had wilted it and I prefer my salads crisp. Due to the late frost and snow that we had, the lettuce didn't get in until very late, along with everything else. I don't mind loosing the lettuce this year. We had such a great harvest last year that I can't complain. I didn't care for the new varieties that I had tried anyway.

The eggplants and peppers that we put in haven't been doing very well. I think they came with an infestation problem. I should have looked at the leaves better before I purchased them. The vendor that sold them is such a dear old lady that I never suspected she would have anything but the best plants. I don't think that she noticed either, she has been so busy with her shop.
Here is my favorite addition to the heirloom garden this year. It is a 'Walking Onion', a top setting onion that gets so heavy on top that it falls over and replants itself. In that way, it works it's way across your garden and is said to 'walk'. I picked it up from the Earthday Celebration at one of our local parks. I love heirlooms and didn't want to miss the chance of adding this one to my collection. I don't generally get into onions or other root veggies so I hope that it does well.

The tomatoes are tended diligently and are producing abundantly. My husband loves tomatoes so I try to maximize my efforts and generally harvest more than we could possibly use. Due to space limitations, I only have two types of tomatoes this year. One is a full, slicing variety and other a cherry. Both will produce until frost.
I trellis and prune every few days and the extra effort pays off in ease of harvest. I can see all of the fruit and don't loose one to being over ripe. Our twelve plants provide a great harvest about twice a week, which is more than we can possibly eat.
We are thankful for the harvest we receive and enjoy the most fresh produce available. Served just seconds after being picked. It doesn't get any better than that!