First Zucchini Harvest

As I was looking through the huge tomato and zucchini leaves in the garden bed, I was totally surprised to see 2 huge zucchinis just waiting to be harvested. Here they are after I cut them from the bush:

All along I've been looking at the bush farther away that has been producing small yellow squash. Then all of a sudden these 2 that were all hidden underneath the green foliage and stems appear. 

The raspberry plant has been producing plenty of fruit. Nothing like fresh raspberries! Also kale and lettuce has been picked. Still waiting on the first ripe tomatoes and cucumbers/pickles to appear.

More Growth Progess

Another extended period of cool, unseasonable weather here. As I write this during the noon hour it is only 63° in my backyard! So here are more photos of growing progress:

First up is kale. I love kale and it is very healthful to eat.

Next is some beautiful lettuce. Look at that wonderful green & red color scheme! And the taste beats anything coming from the store.

Those are pickle plants. I prefer pickles over cucumbers. Usually you can eat a fresh pickle or two and you are satisfied. Cucumbers tend to grow large and difficult to consume in one sitting if you're eating by yourself.

Finally, some string bean plants. Had to apply the Ortho snail & slug killer as the many of the seedlings in this bed have getting attacked as is usually the case each year.

One more item of note--the Big Max pumpkin seed I planted has already sprouted! For such a young seedling it has such huge leaves already. Photo in next post.

More Chilliness

Another few days of chilly weather--with yesterday being downright inappropriate for mid-May. The best we could get yesterday was mid-40s! Absolutely not acceptable!! But it promises to get back up into the 70's, perhaps as early as tomorrow.

I didn't mention that on Thursday I picked up my 2nd of two annual hanging baskets--the Bridal Veil. Found some pretty large, full specimens and the price was respectable. Has given the yard a very nice look. (No photos yet). Due to the unseasonably cool temperatures yesterday, had to take both it and the Chennile into the garage overnight.

In other news, something is going on with my newly sprouting pickle plants. They were emerging nicely from the seeds and all of a sudden one is missing both leaves, another is missing one leaf, etc. I had to spread some slug & snail killer around the seedlings. Past history dictates that we have a problem with these creatures in our soil and if left untreated they do destroy many fruit-bearing seedling plants.

Bought a pack of Early Summer Crookneck Squash seeds today. Package says they are ideal for containers so I'm going to grow them in that way. I want to do plenty of container growing this year. Ground space is limited, especially after some plants reach full growth and hog all the sunlight. So the only option is to fill surrounding spaces with vases, urns and such. Must keep plenty of potting soil at hand!

Hopefully tomorrow will be better weather-wise and will allow for the planting of more seeds. I think a nice goal for this season would be to not have to buy any tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers/pickles, parsley, kale/collards, zucchini and more from the store. Garden fresh--it just smells and tastes so much better!