Let the sun shine

We have had an incredibly un-sunny June...and May if we are really going to get into it! My poor tomatoes are trying their hardest to unfurl their leaves and not give into the wind and cold. We have had some serious insect battles that I have not won, but it appears we came to a draw for now. My cucumber plants withered away from mold and I had to yank them all out last week and put in some new starts. Finally, I chose to yank all of my onions and garlic since I pulled a tester and they were rotting since we had so much rain. Waaaa Waaaa Waaaa.

Now for the good news.

Yesterday was sunny and today is sunny and by george, we have sun and high temperatures (low 80s) forecast through next weekend.  Ok, garden. Start your engine because it is time to RUMBLE!  I am so full of confidence that our true growing season is about to begin that yesterday I planted new cucumber starts along with cantaloupe, nasturtiums, more marigolds, 3 varieties of lettuce, and carrots.  I am feeling renewal!!!  While I am being a bit of a "Debbie Downer" a lot of wonderful growth has been happening. Take a look.

My pumpkins are flourishing this year.  Their precious little curly-q tendrils are starting to reach out and there have flowers. Flowers with BEES in them! Ahhhhh.

This is the crowded jungle where my zucchini, yellow squash and orangetti are growing. We were battling aphids and squash bugs. But from the looks of things, I think we are in control for now.

Pea madness. Every day for the last week I have been perching with my son on the edge of the garden bed and eating peas for at least an hour. He will only eat peas outside. Who can complain? One day we sat with a friend and shelled, chatted and tasted for two hours. Love it.

These tasty treats have been our ticket into the garden every morning. My little man goes to our picture window and looks for some red, ripe strawberries to snack on as a morning treat. He has been amazingly patient during the waiting process. Sometimes he will go 2-3 days without strawberries, waiting for them to ripen.

My acorn squash experiment appears to be going well. Fingers crossed.

 

Pretty soon we will not need to buy a single zucchini from the Farmer's Market.

Pumpkin flower

Yellow squash soon to be eaten!

Rainbow chard is hiding out. We almost forgot about it!

Greeness

These are the tasty peas we have been snacking on. I think they are beautiful.

Yes, I am suffering from pea fascination. I love the symmetry.

Our garlic that was spared. Not first rate or market worthy, but, it will taste good when we use it!

Marigolds are doing their job in the garden: beauty and bug detractors and bee attractors.

Testing to see if our carrots are ready. They are getting there and ooh la la the taste is amazing!

The following pictures are from our front porch. It was being terribly neglected since all of my time is spent with the veggies. This week I decided to spruce things up, so the little man and I took a trip to the local nursery. Thank goodness for my little helper.

Delightful dahlias. 

Garden madness in full swing.

Final thought. I know it is referred to as a "green thumb", however, I think of mine as brown since I don't think I will ever see the day when I don't have some amount of dirt under my nails. 

Dirty nails. Shelling peas. Sneaking strawberries. Vegetables on the verge. Fresh lettuce every day. 

Let the sun shine.

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