The Other Shoe Dropped!

I knew it had to happen.... the other shoe finally dropped on my veggie garden.  Now, who do you think is the evil little furry varmit that has been dining on my eggplant?!  Is it a squirrel? Chipmunk?  Rabbit?  Raccoon? I say show yourself you miserable little guy.... or gal!  And, let's have at it!

On the brighter side of things my Provider Bush Beans (from Johnny Seeds) are blossoming all over.  Don't you think they have the sweetest little purple petals?

And, I've got more baby cukes than I can count.  Time to get out the pickling stuff!

Walking through my garden this morning I stopped to admire our stone walkway.  I love the cottage feel of the walkway with the moss growing in between the spaces, but I have to tell you that weeding this area is almost a daily chore.  I don't want to use weed killer because it will kill the moss, which I love, so I hand pick each and every weed and doing the whole thing can take a good hour at a time.  As you can see, I missed some this time.  *sigh* 

Another bright spot! The hydrangea is blooming!

But.... and there's ALWAYS a but.....  my front perennial bed is loaded with fungus.

It started on the tall garden phlox and has now spread to the peonies (thank goodness they've finished blooming) as well as the cone flowers (I've never had a problem with fungus on them before), hollyhocks (no surprise there...), and foxglove.  It's been a very humid and warm season and although I've been spraying with sulfur it's not working.  As much as I love the phlox (and I'll show a closeup pic in another post), I'm really thinking of pulling them out this fall and replacing them with something else... something easier.  It seems that all of the cottage flowers I love the most (tall phlox, foxgloves, and hollyhocks) are notorious for having fungus problems and powdery mildew.  Usually we don't have this problem until mid to late August, but this year with the early hot and humid weather we are fighting it earlier than normal.  I'm not sure what that will mean for my late summer garden.... thank goodness for Rudbeckia because if everything else looks bad at least these winners will put on a show.

PS...  Do you ever get discouraged by some of the perfect gardens you see on blogs? I know I do.  There are some bloggers whose flower gardens don't have a single bug hole, fungus speck, or yellow leaf.  How do they do it?  Is it good luck?  Creative cropping in a pic?  Selective picture taking?  Use of non-organic chemicals?  Or, just plain hours and hours of hard work and gardening experience?  I'm in my garden constantly (any more and I wouldn't time for a job or a life!), and just can't seem to get in front of these problems.  I'm almost ready to give up.  Please let me know the secret because it's giving me an inferiority complex. 

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

Do you ever worry when things are too good? ( I sure do....  actually I'm a chronic worrier so that's my normal state.)  Case in point....  Here's a picture of my several of my veggie beds. 

 Yellow squash and zucchini.

 16 tomato plants and 8 eggplants.

Cucumbers, bell peppers, and bush beans.

Yes they look wonderful.  No signs of disease and not a bug within sight.  So what's the problem?  Well that is my problem - they look too good.  The growth is incredible for this time of year.  Everything has blossoms and small fruit - I've harvested lots of spring veggies and the summer veggies aren't too far off from picking.  I've got tons of tomatoes - actually some are quite large, and even a sizable green bell pepper is about 1 week away from harvesting (which never happens this early in the season for me in New England).  And, I'm not even spraying (organically of course).  The only real problem I've had is that my squash got top heavy because of their growth and snapped off at the base (and believe it or not this isn't from vine borers - I checked - just weight!).  And.... I took the snapped off top piece of the vine and buried in the soil and 'lo and behold.... the darn thing survived and took root! I never would have guessed it.... you have no idea how many times I've tried to do that in the past after many battles with vine borers in order to save my squash crop and I've never had luck with it.  *sigh* 

 Reflecting on what may be different this year I can't come up with much except incredibly warm weather early in the season and just the right amount of rain.  The soil may be slightly more improved, but I've done nothing drastically different.  It just goes to show you that when it comes to gardening Mother Nature really is in control.  We can try to tame her and nourish her along, but when push comes to shove the best soil, preventative measures, and praying are no comparison to plain ole really good weather (which is incredibly rare in New England).

Beets...lots of them poking through soil.  It won't be long now 'til harvesting them.

Fingerling potatoes growing in 3 containers.

Well I hope this post has jinxed it all.  I'm sure those evil little vine borers are ready to hatch, the leaf loopers hiding beneath the cabbage leaves, and the chipmunks ready to pounce as the southern breeze carries month-long rainy weather filled with blight just waiting to wreak havoc on my picturesque raised bed! UGGHH...  maybe it's time for a tranquilizer!  Darn gorgeous garden!

Yummy Swiss Chard

We've had a bumper crop of swiss chard this year.  I hope it keeps up because it's delicious and the plants are so beautiful.

I've never tried freezing swiss chard but I guess I could since it's similar to spinach and collard greens that freeze well after blanching and draining.  In the meantime I'm enjoying this nutritious green sauteed or with a little crushed tomatoes and some kielbasi.

First clean the greens really well and chop them into bite sizes.  I remove the stems and cook them first since they take a little longer.  You can cook the stems with the greens but by they time the stems cook the greens will get really mushy.

One of my favorite ways to cook them is by using an old Italian recipe that my grandmother and mother taught me.  You start by sauteing diced onions and garlic in olive oil.

 
Add some stewed tomatoes, sausage (or in this case I used kielbasa but you can eliminate the meat entirely), and the stems of the swiss chard.  Cook on low heat until the sausage is almost done and the stems are tender.  Throw in the leaves of the chard.  You will notice that greens cook down a lot so I always use more than I think I'll need.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and then add in a can of drained and rinsed white or red pinto beans (to stretch this meal add in 2 cans of beans - one red and one white).  Continue cooking until the greens are soft and sausage is completely done.

Before serving top with a little Parmesan cheese and grated mozzella.  Serve with garlic bread.  This one dish meal has a rustic taste that pairs deliciously with a robust red wine.  Enjoy!