Saturday, June 30, 2007

First fruits!

Here are the first pickles and zucchini. (The little round one in the upper left corner is supposed to look that way--it's called 8 ball.) Right now mom can sort and wash them in the kitchen, but soon they will be so prolific that it will cover up whole tables in a garage. Bees from Tom McCormmack are to be thanked for pollination! The slower growing peppers and eggplant are also looking good. They have a few small, immature peppers on them. Yesterday we planted all the pumpkins and winter squash. I was able to help a little while before going to work in the afternoon. They look small in the field, but on the big pumpkins the vines will reach across the rows and get so tangled that it's impossible to tell one plant from another.
Last weekend we did get the hay in, in spite of the rain. This past week we planted flowers in some of the rows below the house: zinnias, marigolds, alyssum, and sunflowers. The top rows are dedicated to herbs. One row is basil, and when the sprouts are big enough we will add dill, cilantro, parsley, and more basil.This morning Dad is plowing the strip below the cabbage while mom is at market. It's another beautiful day, with clear skies. There were some fierce storms that went through the area this week, but we didn't get much rain from it, and fortunately, no hail or damaging winds either. The fields are pretty dry; dad is running the irrigation to keep everything growing well.