Early August Gardening Report

Yes, you are looking at eight dirty potatoes surrounding a teacup and saucer, for scale. Today I decided to dig up one hill of potatoes and eight potatoes are what I found! I chose one of the tallest plants, so I don't know whether the shorter ones will have this many spuds beneath them or not. Still, I am very pleased with this discovery.

I sliced the two largest ones to put into the crockpot with some carrots and chicken. The inside is beautiful.

A couple of days ago I harvested this nice zucchini. A friend introduced me to the idea of sauteing zucchini and/or yellow crookneck squash in butter with sliced onions, cooked with the lid on. We are liking this method of squash preparation very much. I see my tea strainer got into this photo; tea-related items abound in my kitchen.

Yesterday I harvested the garlic, and my son helped me get it set up on a screen to dry in the loft of the old playhouse. There are two varieties here; the larger heads grew from cloves from a friend, and I need to ask what it is called.

Last evening I picked this handful of green beans, too. Since they are pole beans, they probably won't be mature all at the same time. I have mixed feelings about that; I prefer the flavor and texture of canned green beans to that of frozen green beans, but if I don't harvest enough of them at once to warrant firing up the pressure canner, I will have to settle for freezing them. It's easier, actually.

The vines have grown all the way to the top of the poles and are waving around in the air. It will require a ladder to pick beans at the top!

On a less happy note, aphids have invaded the purple kohlrabi I have been growing in a flower pot on my deck. I put them there to protect them from the ground squirrels in the garden, only to have them consumed by aphids. Sometimes ya just can't win!

The squash, cucumber plants, tomato plants, carrots, and dill are looking good. There are little green tomatoes now, and one or two cherry tomatoes are turning orange. I have picked just two cucumbers so far; everything is late this year, as I have said before.

I love my one and only balloon flower. It has been there for many years, surrounded by an assortment of flowers that changed periodically. Right now it is surrounded by mint. I don't know whether balloon flowers are allegedly deer resistant, or if the mint is disguising it so they don't notice it. I have grown weary of battling the deer, so am leaning more toward herbs and things I am SURE they won't eat.

All photos taken on my Android phone.