The Beginning of the End

So after a few days of some much-needed time away, I am back. But before my bags were even unloaded, it was straight to the garden so see what had transpired while I was away...
Before I left, I did as much weeding and watering as I could, and plucked any veggies that were ready - hoping that everything would hold off till my return. I set more rows of carrots (who knows if they will sprout) and radishes since they did so well the first time around. The tomatoes are pretty close to ready, and I might have to call in back up when the time comes to harvest - its looking like they will all be ready at the same time and with nearly two-dozen plants out there, I'm going to have to hustle!! Anyhow, upon my return, I found myself amazed at how much can happen in a few short days. A half-dozen cucumbers, a handful of jalepenos, a couple green peppers and some more green beans were waiting to be harvested. I also pulled some basil and dill from the garden for later. The lettuce decided it was much too hot and bolted ( I guess all that shade from the corn wasn't enough) but the onions are poking their little tops out from the soil :) -
On the other side of the garden, the melon and butternut squash plants are starting to fruit - no sign of any acorn squash yet. Hooray!!!
We are still waiting to see if the cauliflower and red cabbage are going to do anything--- the foliage looks fabulous but no sign of heads developing - keep your fingers crossed!
The kids have been anxious to help me keep an eye on things, and Em is working hard to weed when she can.
If anyone has any recipes to share for the yellow squash or any ideas on how to preserve these for later, please share... I seem to have an over-abundance of this stuff and a lack of people who want to eat it!

And because cucumbers are best preserved within a few days of harvest... here is what happened to the ones that were waiting for me when I got home :

What the.....

Soooo.....we decided to head out to the garden to get a little bit of work done this afternoon. Last night, I was out hoeing weeds and trying to keep the place looking somewhat presentable. And so far....the handy dandy mole repellent is NOT working. They have only found new and creative ways around it. Anyhow....While I was doing this: (trying to save my self from some of the weeding)

The kids were over at the other end of the garden, doing this: 

yes. now they have taken to making little water ways to the squash and cucumber plants. the whole thing started out with Izaac thinking he could dig a hole to China. Which turned into "Can we use the hose so its easier to dig?" To which I replied: "I suppose, but only if you water the potatoes too." Which they did not. Apparently they are planning a little "vay-cay" to the far East without Mommy Dearest. Because, you know, they have been working so hard out here. So while Izaac digs, Emily is making sure the squash want for nothing in the way of liquid refreshment...

On the bright side, I suppose there is one good thing.....Izaac did help me put eggshells around the tomato plants today, and they all seem to be doing quite well. So there's that. 

Hooray for Rain!!!

I was thrilled to wake up this morning to the sound of rain...this meant I didn't have to get up early to go water the garden (and I was ready for a break!) It's been a long week out there. I have been scrambling to get the rest of the plants in, and weeding relentlessly. Hopefully soon, I can get out there with the oodles of newspaper (now that I have my wheelbarrow back, which has been MIA since we used it at my Gram's last summer to move mulch -YAY!), and then the weeding won't be such a daunting task.
It's been a busy week out there, and things might be starting to settle down for a bit. While I was watering the potatoes, I realized I was missing two cucumber plants (which are in the general area of the cucumbers)...and the bunnies helped themselves to the lettuce -YIKES!! So while I was standing there, hose in hand, wondering where the heck the cucumbers went, I also realized that I was now watering a hole in the ground, and not my precious 'taters.... yuppers...the moles are back and now I think I know what happened to the cukes! So the kids and I hauled off to the store to get batteries for our handy mole repellent posts (generously left to me by my home's former owner). If you have never seen or used such a thing, they are a battery powered device that you bury in the garden. Every so often, they emit an ultrasonic tone that supposedly drives the moles away. We.Shall.See.
We also planted carrot, radish and green onion seeds. Hopefully I remember to thin all of these when they are ready so they actually grow well this time! Later this week,  I will add more basil around the tomatoes - they make good neighbors and the basil helps ward off bugs - and I plan to add more herbs around some of the other plants to help those along as well. If anyone has any brilliant ideas about how to protect the cabbage and cauliflower (that doesn't involve super-toxic chemicals please), I'm all ears! I always have trouble with these ones...
I brought my kids out to the garden to help, or to try and get them to help- the were my anxious little helpers the first year we had a garden, and not so much anymore. They will water the plants most times, but weeding? HA! Planting? Um..maybe...if the wind is blowing the right direction...So, if you happen to scroll through the pictures at the bottom of the page, you will see just how much help they are. Look for the one of my son, the-stick-wielding-crown-wearing (fashioned by his sister)-self-declared-roman-soldier...and you will see exactly how much help I get from these guys! I think all he is missing is the tunic. And Emily ran for the hills as soon as I pulled out the camera.
Despite all the work it takes to get a veggie garden going, I still enjoy it. Every last part of it -the quiet hours I spend out there weeding and digging, planting, tending and harvesting all make it worth while. The excitement of watching the plants grow and discovering new ways to help the garden along are part of the fun. To me, this is nature at one of its finest moments... you plant, you water, you watch and hope, and eventually the little seeds and tiny plants do something wondrous...they somehow work their way out of the dark earth, and without question, they reach for the sky and begin to grow.