Garden Tour II and First Harvest

I was worried about my garden while on vacation, but it did great.  It's amazing what can happen in 7 days.  I gave it a good soaking before we left and I'm in awe of my plants when I visited today.  The squash and zucchini are just about at the top of the trellis and both are producing.  I wonder how long it will take before my neighbors ask me not to leave them anymore squash or zucchini. 

These were babies when I left.  They were huge when I returned.  I harvested 6 squash and 2 zucchini.  Guess who will be making a batch of zucchini bread this week.  I have a new recipe that I'm going to try with the squash thanks to my neighbor.  The others I will share with my mother. 

This is the pepper patch.  Several of the peppers were on the ground, so I had to tie them up today.  They are all producing.  Can't wait to make pepper flakes out of the chilies, and freeze the others for some of my other favorites dishes this winter.  I love hot pepper flakes on everything! 

Miss Tilly is wearing her new hat thanks to my neighbor.  Doesn't she look great.  It was a little large, so I stuck in a few hat pins to hold it up. 

The tomatoes are doing great.  At the top are a beefsteak and Paul Robeson. Both are flowering.  The beefsteak has a few tomatoes.  I'm working diligently to remove the suckers this year in hopes of bigger tomatoes.  I'm also giving them doses of calcium and fish emulsion, which I didn't do last season. We'll see if it helps.   I'm going to put a few scoops of compost around them if time allows this week. 

The cukes have taken off.  They are now climbing the netting.  The dill is doing great.  I'm going to use it for refrigerated pickles.  I have red onions planted in this area too.  They will be used in my salsa. 

These are Pink Brandywine.  They are flowering and doing great too.  Can't wait to slice these babies. 

This is a Hillbilly.  I named it Hatfield, lol.  Watched the movie Hatfield and McCoy on the History Channel last month with Kevin Costner.  Oh, how I love him.  Now he's planted in my garden. A girl can dream can't she. 

The watermelons are sprawling and they have lots of flowers.  A vine had actually grown through the fence.  I was able to bring it back into the garden and head it in the other direction.  I'm letting them grow over the ground along the back fence.  I'm hoping there's enough room.  My bamboo trellis didn't hold up, so the ground was the alternative. 

The Roma patch is under the ladder.  They doubled in size while I was gone.  I also have Blue Lake and Wax beans in the patch as well.  I'm hoping for a good harvest of green beans.  My family loves my green beans and corn, so I'm hoping to can a few quarts to use for family gatherings this year. 

The french Blue Lake pole beans are wrapping around the teepee trellis.  So far so good this year.  The groundhogs ate them down 5 times last season.  I finally gave up.  My battle with them this season will be another post.  I also have Blue Lake bush beans in this patch. 

Here's my first harvest for 2012.  So proud, I grew these from seed.  I may try it again next year.  The spring onions are a courtesy from my neighbor.