Domesticated Daucus Donation

I grew these beauties in a discarded 10 gallon storage bin that someone had thrown away because they just became tired of it. I took them, along with a bag of fresh banana peppers, to a local charity that works to make sure people who are in need are fed at least a couple of wholesome, filling meals each day.

I should have planted at least two containers of carrots this season. Carrots are so easy to grow. Give them a nutrient rich environment, water and sunshine and they just take off. I'm definitely going to grow more next year.

Peppers For The Patio

You don't need much of a container to grow beautiful banana peppers like these, as you can plainly see from the photo. And you certainly don't need much room either. So if all you have available is a patio or porch, preferably with a Southern exposure, you have no reason not to try growing some to supplement your supply of fresh vegetables. Peppers have few if any pests and the only "problem" you may have with them is harvesting them fast enough once the plants start producing!

Colorful Nutrition

I have already extolled the nutritious wonders of Swiss chard elsewhere in this blog. So I won't repeat them in this entry. I'll just allow you to gaze at the colorful cousin of the family known as rhubarb chard. Enjoy!

Lovely Lakota

Lakota squash have an appeal that extends beyond their use as food. They make a great addition to the centerpiece of any Thanksgiving table. And because they are a winter squash, they keep for months. I recommend growing them to anyone who has the space for the vines, which can extend to six feet or more.

And I Almost Forgot...

While I was waxing poetic about the myriad ways in which banana peppers could be eaten and used in an earlier post, I forgot to mention that they can also be pickled. How careless of me!

All In Good Time

Thanks to a summer that has been far cooler and wetter than normal, the melons in the garden have taken their own sweet time(pun intended) to grow and ripen. However, as the old saying goes, good things come to those who wait. And it has been well worth the wait. I thought the lack of ninety degree days and sunshine would have an adverse effect on the taste of this season's crop. I was wrong. These are some of the sweetest melons I've ever grown. My only complaint is that there might have been more of them to harvest if the weather had been more cooperative. Well, in the immortal words of Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want." But thankfully, I can truly say I'm happy with what nature provided despite adverse conditions.

Race To The Frost Line

Normally, we don't get frost here until the middle of October. However, nothing has been normal about this growing season, which started late because it was cooler than normal thru May and into June. And now it's been cooler in September than it should be on average. It will be a real race to see if my butternut squash plant will mature before Jack Frost makes his appearance. I've got my fingers and toes crossed!