last day of July

With new baby Iris, the garden obviously doesn't have my full attention this year, but there are some crops that never disappoint me. This is the second year of my glad corms and they are giving tons of blooms! I planted zuccs and summer squash late, and sowed the seeds directly so they're just starting to give. And I think the heatwave killed my potato plants. They all look dead but when I pulled one up there were still a few immature spuds underneath, which makes me think the plant wasn't done. But there are still plenty of big guys.

The butternuts and watermelon are coming along slowly in the bed with nasturtium. I fertilized a lot but might need to do it again since they are in last year's tomato bed, and it's probably pretty stripped of nutrients.

The sunflowers got tall but the same insect pests from last year found them and stripped them pretty good. And our woodchuck has gotten the better of my beloved green beans.

I stuck in about 10 tomato plants from the local greenhouse (Celebrity, I think) and there's a bunch of green golf ball sized fruits now. Also, lots of shallots, though some are puny.

I know it would be wise to take next year off from vegetables and let the beds replenish with a cover crop. It might also be a good excuse to focus my attention solely on perennials and landscaping. I mean if I'm not buying seeds and slips I'll finally have an excuse to buy camellias!
Though I might go loca without veggies. Time for some soul searching.

Carrots!

I was about 9 months pregnant when my carrots needed thinning...so they never really got thinned...so they never really got big. Today I decided I should finally harvest all of the tiny yet plentiful roots. There was a nice little bounty. Plenty to freeze, plenty to share, and enough left over for carrot cake. 
Best of all I've just cleared half a bed (16 sq. feet) for new planting. I think more carrots, more green beans, and some beets.