Gardening Update

It's not all fun and games and homeschooling around here. Sometimes we have to do real work, like gardening. Just last Thursday (as pretty much every Thursday for the last couple of months) we were working in the side yard, clearing all the English ivy and Virginia creeper, getting rid of old branches and twigs littering the ground, pruning, digging, planting, mulching and doing all possible to transform our neglected side yard into something nice. We are half-way there, I think (although I shudder at the thought of having to dig more holes in the awful mix of thick roots, big rocks, broken bricks and heavy clay that we have instead of proper soil).

We've been so busy with the side yard, that we had hardly any time left for the front yard veggie garden. Ok, so M finally pruned the dwarf peach (no worries, I gave him detailed instructions and he did a beautiful job). And I finally did get stakes and sisal rope and tied up tomatoes. And thankfully with all the rain we've been getting there was no need for watering. But the place is in bad need of weeding.

So what's growing and, most importantly, ripening, in our veg garden? We still have lots of lettuce. It is now getting shade from surrounding plants and hasn't bolted yet. We are finally getting some sugar peas. M picked the first few pods today, ate them "with great relish" and proclaimed them delicious. The carrots are too small, but he picked a couple anyway. Originally he wanted to store them for winter (you see, we've been listening to Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House in the Woods" and M is now all about stocking up for the winter). It took some persuading on my part to get him to eat these little carrots.

Plus, of course, we get lots of herbs - garlic and green onions, all kinds of mint, dill, rosemary, etc. Just the other day we made lemonade and added some fresh mint to it - yummy! (so if you need mint, do let me know, I've got lots of it).

Yellow squashes are almost ready, just a couple more days until we can start picking them. Some of the early tomatoes are starting to bloom and so are the two potato plants.

Even though the weather's been kind of crazy, the cukes are growing well and I'm hoping we get lots and lots of tiny cukes soon. 'Cause you know, as long as it's something M can harvest himself, he will eat it. But store bought veggies are a whole different story. Seriously, he will munch on chives and sorrel and mint as long as he can "graze". Maybe I'll plant lots of broccoli next year?