Another small harvest

As May comes to an end and the hot summer weather returns, I am hoping that my garden produces more produce in the next few weeks.
I went ahead and cut the two remaining cucumbers from the vines.  I think I left them on a little to long though, as they were turning a pale greenish/yellow color.  The thing about cucumbers is that the more you pluck, the more they will produce.  I also cut the zucchini, which reached about 11 inches long.











Some friends of ours already gave us two big zucchini earlier this week, so my wife and I are trying to find different ways of cooking it.  I grilled it on the grill with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.  My wife made a cucumber sauce and it was quite tasty.  We also made some kale chips in the oven, which were good.














I also picked two jalapeno peppers and two tiny little cherry tomatoes.  Besides waiting for the rest of my produce to grow, I am having a small battle with some squirrels, who have already eaten the first of my strawberries.  I had bought a squirrel feeder when I first planted my seeds, hoping it would divert them away.  I guess my little friend just loves sweet strawberries.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

First cucumber harvest of the season, zucchini almost ready, and regrowth of the bib lettuce

I checked the vines today and decided to cut two of the cucumbers off.  The other two I am going to give a couple more days on. Can't eat that many cucumbers at one time.

What's really surprising to me is how fast zucchini grows.  One day it was about the size of a baby carrot and then the next day its about a foot long.  This is my first time growing zucchini and so far, its doing quite well in the raised beds.

I guess we will be making lots of salad in the next few days because the bib lettuce is really growing.  The plant that I cut off about a month ago has already grown back to a nice size.   Need to start a crop rotation calendar to efficiently use all the produce this year.  Saw another decent size strawberry the other day too, but I guess a critter had a juicy snack because it was gone.

 

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Homemade birdfeeder

Care for a spot of tea?

So I saw some of these homemade bird feeders down in Wimberley, TX and thought I would give it shot in making one for myself.  So I made a trip to the local Goodwill to find some colorful saucers, plates, and small bowls.  To drill a hole through the middle of the porcelain dinnerware, I had to buy a tile drill bit at Home Depot.  Making sure to keep the drill bit wet, I was able to drill through the 3 pieces but either the drill bit became dull or the next plate was just way to thick.  I used a extra long bolt and washers to connect the pieces and a small piece of green chain to hang it up.  Not that bad for my first attempt.

The cucumbers and tomatoes are starting to grow

Today I found 3 more little baby cucumbers starting to sprout.  The large one will probably be ready to pick in about a week.  I also have a few green tomatoes now,  a few on the grape tomato plant and one on the Big Boy plant.  Hope the bugs leave alone this year.  Speaking of bugs, something has been destroying my two broccoli plants. The leaves are full of holes.

First harvest of the spring season

So far, we have got to enjoy a nice portion of some of the bib lettuce and one nickle size juicy strawberry.  The tomatoes have started to grow now thanks to the recent rain and I discovered a cucumber under the leaves a few days ago about 6 inches long.  I have a few herbs growing too (parsley, basil, dill, and cilantro) but for some reason have never had any luck with the herbs. 

yummy bib lettuce