Garden Update

My tomatoes are looking so good. I have plenty of green ones that I'm anxiously waiting to turn red. We've had two red ones and they were wonderful! I forget how delicious garden tomatoes are when I'm so used to store bought tomatoes.

See these patty pan squash growing under there? They are ripe and ready to be picked but I can't pick them!

...because of the bees! There is a big, fuzzy one in every flower. And one flower had three! I wasn't all that bothered by them until the other night. My mom stopped by and I offered to pick her some squash. I reached in to move the branches and grabbed right onto a bee. Ouch! It got me between my thumb and index finger. It still hurts a little.

And here is what a baby patty pan looks like. Aren't they cute? Charlie loves to see how the seeds we planted turn into branches, then leaves, then flowers, then squash. A great learning process! If I get the courage we will pick some later today and deliver them to our neighbors. What else can I do with hundreds of patty pans?

The Garden

I have never planted anything before. Ever. Once, I had a cactus and I never watered it because I thought that was the point- a cactus doesn't need water. I'm not good with plants.

However, there are many hobby farmers at our church and every year they drop off corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. I'm greatful and thankful but sometimes those things come in such a surplus I can't keep up with the canning and freezing and I end up wasting a lot of food. I decided this year that I would plant my own garden and give away my surplus so there wouldn't be any waste. Although, now that I'm typing that out the logic seems a little skewed.

But today I had my first harvest! And I am proud! First of all, let me tell you I was clueless on how much to plant. Here is the squash section of my garden. Clearly I have gotten carried away:

But, look! Here is what I found underneath my 6 squash plants:

Isn't it beautiful? I call it a star squash but if you google recipes it's best to call it a patty pan squash. I'm pretty excited to bake it up for dinner tonight. There is something about eating food I've grown myself that is especially pleasing.

Now if only those tomatoes would turn red!