Almost Time to Harvest! {More Progress in the Backyard Garden}

Hey there friends! Well @simplymike has put out the monthly post calling for our garden journal updates, so I didn't want to miss out on the action as our garden is really getting close to providing quite a bit of fresh produce! What a difference just a week makes, as I just shared some photos last Tuesday. Come take a nice little stroll around the beds before the rain passes through again...

Lots of blossoms have the bees buzzing all around. I used some on my squash pizza that I shared a few days ago, but I need to pull off some more to enjoy before they disappear for the season. The different squashes we have growing are just about ready to start pulling off, as well. Our biggest producer is still the acorn squash as you can see from all the different ones popping up around the garden.

The picture in the middle is one that we will probably harvest before the weekend as it seems to be ripe for the picking. I think we may also pull off one of the little baby butternuts as they don't seem to be growing much bigger either, though I did find another new one growing underneath the cucumbers. (@puravidaville I totally named this collage "buttnut" in my photos🤣 ) The current lone spaghetti squash may join the harvest basket, as well!

Speaking of cucumbers--holy moly did they start to go nuts with the rain we are finally getting more regularly! Of course I had @dksart grab some at the farmers market this weekend, then his mom gave us some from her garden, and now we've got quite a few just about ready to pull off from our own vines. Good thing I've gotten all kinds of good recipe ideas from folks lately like @fionasfavourites and @akipponn for a few of the things that are in season right now.

We are also finally getting some zucchini that also seem to start producing fast and furious when the conditions are right. I'm starting to plan my next nutrition event at work, so it's great to have plenty of options to play with right from the backyard. I am nailing down the recipes that I'm going to share so I can get the photos ready for promoting the event.

As for the new awesome raised bed that @dksart created, the melon plants are growing fairly well. The eggplant are taking their time, so I'm hoping we didn't plant them too late. It stays hot well through September here, which means there should be plenty of the growing season left for some of the slow starters.

Of course I can't forget the tomatoes! The cherry tomatoes seem to be producing quite a bit of fruit, but nothing getting red just yet. I was amazed to see the tomato plants that @dksart's mom has going in her garden this past weekend. I should have taken pictures to share. She did use starter plants as opposed to seeds like us, but she should have quite the harvest soon! At least I know if ours don't become too fruitful, she should have plenty to share.

For fails, the pepper plants are struggling a bit. They had a few peppers on them when I bought them, but they rotted off before they were ready to harvest. I suppose we need to do a little research to see if there is anything we can do to help them thrive more. I'm also "failing" to use anywhere near the amount of mint that is growing! I keep trying to use it in everything from salads to tea to smoothies, but it is getting really out of hand. Any inventive ideas that use a lot of it at once I'd be grateful for, haha!

To finish out my update, here's the haul of fresh green beans that @dksart's mom gave us this weekend from a friend's garden! I've been working on putting these beauties to good use today. I'll leave that for another post, though, and just tease you with how fresh and delicious they look. 😉

Thanks to all the folks who share their gardening knowledge and just the joy of vibrant, homegrown, whole foods with us all! It is a blast to virtually visit each of them to see what everyone else is working on! @mariannewest is a master, and @erikah always shares some awesome growing skills! @porters was a bit behind me being further north with colder weather, but I hope it's warmed up a bit now for some outdoor planting! I know @zekepickleman has some stuff he's working on, and I always look forward to @abitcoinskeptic's updates. I'm sure I'm forgetting some folks, but I figure if I tag some that means I might actually remember to make sure to stop by their latest updates!

Happy gardening all! 🌱

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