We had quite the harvest of cukes this past week, so I made my first batch of pickles using
this recipe from quite possibly my favorite garden-blogger out there, then adding more of my own spices to each jar as an experiment in variety.
I made a special trip to WinCo last time we were in the big city and picked up bulk pickling spices and a bunch of fresh dill so I could have those pretty flowerheads in my jar.
We shall see how those pickles turn out in the next few weeks. For now, they are bathing in their briney goodness in my fridge.
So, we left town for a few days, so we could celebrate my daughter's birthday riding on the Wizard's Train, and also to be able to attend a nephew's birthday party, and another nephew's baby blessing. Our intentions to make this a quick trip to the big city ended up being more like a weeklong trip because my daughters got sick and weren't in any shape to be traveling up through the windy canyon roads back to our abode. We have our garden set up on a timer and on drip lines (such a convenience), so I wasn't worried about things dying, but when we got back, I discovered that things grew... like, a lot! Chard, parsley, and beets were billowing and begging to be picked.
The pineapple tomatillos set fruit.
The cabbage actually grew taller even though it looks like it is suffering something terrible from what's eating it. I'm doubting we will get any cabbage, but I guess we'll see.
There was a watermelon hiding in cucumber patch.
The tomatoes started to set fruit.
We have one really big brandywine tomato that is quietly growing near the base of the plant.
The tomatillos have lots of flowers and cute little paper husks plumping up!
More watermelons...
And the peppers are finally getting some buds.
But, it was the cucumbers that grew very fast. We had several that were past their prime, but plenty of others to pickle. Oh! And we had a few surprise strawberries, too. All in all, the garden is doing pretty well this year thus far. I hope to see the tomatoes set more fruit and ripen up in the next few weeks!
P.S. Don't you think our tiny picnic table turned out cute with just a coat of paint? It looked like this before:
It was a lovely $3 Yard Sale Find that is our girls project. My girls, my mom, and I painted it with discount paint ($10/gal), and we plan to have it be an ongoing project throughout the years. Maybe we'll paint it red next year, or indigo, or paint flowers on it? Who knows?
Sharing:
Tuesday Garden Party,
The Gathering Spot
Tuesdays with a Twist
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