How My Garden Grows: June

June proved to be a productive month gardening wise.  I planted late this year so it's taken a lot longer that I'd like to start seeing food.  I managed to plant everything in the right spot and all the plants are doing nicely.  We've had fresh beans on the grill for the last week *YUM* and have lotsa green peppers too!! One plant has 9 on it right now, and I'm waiting until they are a little bigger so we can do stuffed green peppers.  I'll also freeze some since we did that last year and it was so nice to have our own peppers for things like stir fry, fajitas, omelets, etc.  The red peppers are coming along a little slower but hopefully in the next week or two we'll see some ready to pick.

Cucumber count: 8 and they just started getting pickable this week.  8 cucumbers in ONE WEEK.  I love it!  Noelle and Ty eat them like candy bars and I'm enjoying making my favorite cucumber salad, complete with our homegrown onions.

Speaking of onions, that damn vole is back and it's been snagging my new onions that are coming in. I've found onion remnants in it's hole- like a crime scene-  that really ticks me off! Unfortunately there aren't many options when it comes to vole removal, but I tried to blast it out with the sprinkler today. No luck.

The tomato plant has lotsa of green cherry tomatoes but haven't turned red.  Seems like they should be ready to go now...we might have to sneak over to Grandma and Grandpa's and pick some of theirs....

What else?  Carrots- the carrots have lived a tough life this year between the rabbits, the vole, and being choked out by the beans.  There are still about 10 that are going strong with tops that are about 12 inches.  I wonder when they will be ready?  I guess I could pull one out and see but I'd hate to waste it!

That's about it...threw some cilantro seeds down to put in a great recipe with tomatoes, avocados and onions. So simple yet the best dip I've eaten in a while.

Here are some shots of the kids....Noelle LOVES raw green beans in addition to the cukes and likes to pick the veggies.  She gets really excited to fill up her bushel basket and sometimes has to make two trips inside because it's too heavy.   Ty's involvement is pretty restricted in the garden.  While he has good intentions, I can't let him pick anything because he'll rip the whole plant out...maybe next year buddy.