I have slipped again and have gone two weeks without an update. But this time it was due to technical issues. I was first upgrading my laptop to the new Ubuntu Hardy, but then later discovered my server had some bad issues and decided to upgrade that as well. Things are not yet 100% perfect but are good enough for me to continue the blog...

Anyways, I'm well into harvesting veggies from the garden. I have picked almost all of my snow peas, and I have let a bunch go to 'seed' so I'll have enough to plant a second batch for the remainder of the year. The snow peas are actually starting a second wave of flowering, so I'll get a bit more from them before they get replanted. I've also picked all of my lettuce (that was growing in the bed) and spinach since they started to bolt. I have replanted some more baby spinach and will be replanting more lettuce shortly.

I must have about 2 gallon bags full of lettuce in the fridge. I eat a lot of salads so it won't last too long. We used up all the spinach. Last week we made a spinach and basil pasta sauce using the spinach and basil from the garden. It was great.

My potato bed is still having a major ant problem. I put down some Diatomaceous Earth, an organic ant pesticide, around the bed last week and that seems to have helped a bit, but I need to 'do some digging' (quite literally) to see how well it worked. I'm also going to take some of the old hot peppers I have saved in the freezer from last year and make a homemade anti-ant solution (vinegar, water, hot peppers, garlic) to spread around as well. Ants don't like things of that sort (so I have read) so hopefully that will keep them away. Also the sad fence that I constructed out of bamboo and twine hasn't worked to well, so I picked up some cheap fencing from a dollar store. I'm putting that in tonight.

The beans are flowering but still rather sad looking. They are tiny and are still having germination issues, but I think I have enough plants now. We will see.

I have picked my first head of Bok Choi and am hoping to use it soon - since I have 5 other heads just waiting to be picked (they are starting to flower). I've done some Googling but it seems like Bok Choi is not good for freezing, but I'm thinking of maybe trying to make some Kimchee. Yum! Unfortunatly the cabbage I have in the same bed is getting attached by some bugs. I keep applying hot pepper wax but it's not helping and my cabbage is getting all eaten up. At least something is enjoying it - I don't think it is going to work out this year. Oh well.

The cucumbers have started bearing fruit over the last week. I have almost a dozen gherkins and am going to be making some 'Refrigerator Pickles' soon. I can't wait!

The peppers are doing very well too. I should have some jalapeños ready by the end of the week, and others to follow shortly. Salsa season is almost here, which brings us to...

TOMATOES! They are huge - over 6ft already! I have tons of tomatoes starting - plenty of Black Cherry, Tumbler, and Wayahead. I have about a dozen Mama Romas that are well formed, and the other types are starting to take fruit as well. The only slacker so far seems to be Mr. Stripey, but they are starting to flower as well. Nothing has started ripening yet, but they should soon. The tomatillos are doing great as well. Lots of husks are puffing up and some are getting a bit plump on the inside.

Anyways, that's it for now. I'll be putting up the last of my pictures (both veggie and flower) later tonight - the last for June. But stay tuned - I'm going to try to post more often (meaning shorter posts!) and maybe even some recipes of things I end up making. Yum!