I spent so much time and energy at war against the destructive ground squirrels (as described here and here), other garden tasks were sorely neglected. I finally took the time to trim the tomato plants, do a little weeding here and there, deadhead the flowers, and dry a few herbs.
Although the ground squirrels destroyed (or nearly so) four crops, others are doing well. Since we moved the raspberry patch last fall, I am only getting a few raspberries this year. But that was to be expected. The zucchini and yellow summer squash are slowly beginning to produce. I have harvested a handful of pea pods off the varmint-damaged vines. One lovely onion got big enough to harvest, and we have eaten the two biggest beets, plus some beet greens.
One lone cucumber hid under a leaf until I happened to notice it one day.
But the most impressive crop so far is the green beans! I kept checking them all last week, hoping the critters would leave them alone, and that they would grow as they ought. Monday I called the local extension office to check on their hours of operation, and took my pressure canner gauges there to be checked for accuracy. And just in time, because Tuesday I picked beans.
I planted four half-rows of green beans. The rows were three feet apart, but the plants grew and grew, until it was just a solid mass of green bean plants. I thought of Moses parting the Red Sea as I decided how to get between the rows.
It took plenty of time and patience, but I carefully worked my way between the rows, making a path as I went. I was thankful the weather had cooled off into the 70s instead of the 90s; it made the job much more pleasant.
After a little more than an hour, I ended up with my bread bowl heaped full of beans. Another two hours of snapping beans, and I had this nice pile to work with:
I had other plans for yesterday afternoon, so put the beans in a big bag in the fridge until today, when I processed them in the pressure canner.
Here they are in jars, next to the fourteen quarts of cherries I canned Monday afternoon. There was a great sale on cherries at a local supermarket, so I bought a case of them. I hadn't canned cherries for years, and had forgotten how easy it is. My older sister pointed out that the fruits get more difficult to deal with as the season progresses: cherries, apricots, peaches, and then pears. She's right!
After investing so much money and labor into the garden, it's nice to finally begin to see a harvest, and feel like it was worth all the work. Here's hoping for lots more beans, and eventually plenty of cucumbers, red tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and winter squash!
All photos taken on my Android phone.