Garden Journal Update for August 4th - by Sunscape

It was very warm this past week and I decided to pick a few different greens. This is Swiss Chard, I did not plant a lot of it this spring as I decided I would seed more this fall.

After washing it well, I cut trimmed the stems from the leaves and cut them up. I like to sauté them with onions until tender before adding the greens.

Once the greens wilt down, I like to add salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar to taste.

This is one of my husband's favorite ways to have different types of greens. I do the same with beet greens, dandelion greens, and Radicchio.

Beet Greens

Italian Greens

Radicchio

Banana Peppers

A few Banana peppers were large enough to pick. I just froze them whole like this and will probably fry them for dinner one night.

Red Cabbage

I picked the last two Red Acre Cabbage and decided to make a jar of Sauerkraut.

It fermented on the counter for 5 days and now resides in the refrigerator. I enjoy putting sauerkraut in my tossed salads for a little extra zippiness.

Needless to say, the veggies have kept me busy every morning. I now have a few containers of greens put away for future meals.

Honey Bee

This little guy kept flying around my foot as I was sitting on the porch. I had sprayed down my legs to cool off and he landed on my foot.

The bee literally drank droplets off my foot, and did not even mind my putting the camera close to it.

Speaking of the honeybees, they have been fairly scarce due to the intense heat. This week I started seeing them again gathering nectar from the white clover in the lawn. Of course, I had to step on one barefoot. Boy I forgot how much bee stings hurt. I quickly made some mud and slathered my foot to draw out the stinger.

Summer Squash and Zucchini

I found two crooked neck summer squash in the front garden hidden under the leaves. There are still two more that I will let get a bit larger and I plan on making a casserole with those.

I picked these and a Zucchini and will have to do something with them soon. I will make some muffins and bread and will have plenty to share with the neighbors.

Once I pick the last two, I will pull out all the vines and get that area cleaned out.

Pumpkin

I discovered three pumpkins while trimming off some of the larger leaves. I'm excited to have a few to decorate the front porch with this fall. Hopefully, they will get to be a nice size for me.

Party Time Cucumber's

I've been trimming back leaves on the cucumber vines hoping that the bees will pollinate the flowers. If I don't start seeing them flying in the garden, I will have to do it myself. All the farm markets in the area are saying that they can't get enough pickling cukes due to the lack of bees during the intense heat.

Well, this post is long enough and if your still with me, I wish you all a great gardening week ahead. Stay cool and have fun!

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