Hours of picking - Saturday

It was WAY cooler yesterday and that meant more time in the garden picking beans. I started out with the squash as usual but only got 25 for the day. The plants have cycles where they produce like crazy then they take a little break and then the next big flush will come.

I was watching the FA cup final between Chelsea and Arsenal and was floating between picking and watching until the score was settled. After the match I got to full picking focus and spent the next hours scooting down the rows picking Roc D'Or and Compass. The first bucket was 9 pounds of beans.

The second bucket of beans was just shy of 12 pounds. I barely managed to get the last of the beans in the row piled on top of the bucket. 171 half pound bags are going to get bagged up today for delivery Tuesday. The co-op has a CSA box that goes out each week and these will be in this week's box. I have another 50 or so that are needed for Friday.

My cucumber plants are now taller than me. Over 6 feet tall and still going and they are producing like gang busters. I have not had cucumbers do this well in probably 5 years. I can remember the last time I had them grow this well and the garden is a far cry from then.

22 cucumbers are now in the cooler and I have them listed to sell on the co-op marketplace. A couple already sold for Friday and likely the rest will go for the USDA boxes.

Lacinto type kales are amazing and mine are huge. I really need to hack them back and harvest a bunch of the leaves before the bugs get to them too much. I have to pull out the satellite dish for drying them again. I still have pounds of dried kale in the pantry that we need to use.

The beans are all looking pretty good. The sprinkler rains help the leaves and keep everything looking greener.

The grapes are doing amazingly this year after I hacked them back and strung them up on the wire. I have been taking the tendrils off that are growing all over the place to try and focus the growth energy to the grapes instead of the plant.

The grapes are looking good and are growing nice bunches all over. My goal this year is to have larger grapes with less bunches and so far it is looking like it is working. I will know once they have ripened and can see if they are larger than last year.

112 pounds of beans are in the cooler, 50+ squash, and 22 cucumbers. I have another 30 pounds or so that are on the plants that need to be picked.

There was some light clouds that helped keep the direct sun at bay much of the day so in the afternoon I went out and did a little work on the shed. I got the last of the key pier blocks set and have all three beams pretty much leveled front to back. The next step is to level the rest of the pier blocks and then cut the 4x4s for the pier block risers. The garden needs my attention more than the shed at the moment but I am trying to get something done on it each day, even if it is just a little bit. Progress is progress and every little bit helps.

Today I have many more beans to pick before they get over grown and tough, work on the shed, I HAVE to get into the hives to check my Flow frames, and more cleaning and organizing in and around the house. The most important thing is to get the beans all bagged into half pound bags for Tuesday delivery.