We had another good harvest of squash and beans. I figure we’ll get one more squash harvest about half this size. Right now I have more squash than Carter’s got had Liver Pills. (Oops, my age is showing lol )
In the upper left of the photo, you can see my blue jean water tote that I made the first part of June. It’s really came in handy. I’m tickled pink with it. It the perfect size to carry 2 bottles of water & little stuff I may need it in. I wish I would’ve thought to make one years ago. It works great.
As for the beans, we put up a couple dozen quarts. We have enough to do through the winter. We don’t plan on picking any more beans. We figure it’d be stupid to let the plants stay and get completely infested with bean beetles, so my husband pulled up all the bean plants and tossed them away.
Our garden has reached the jungle stage. It looks a mess because the plants are grown and the weeds are growing wild. This is what happens when folks don’t have time to use the tiller or pull weeds. You can click on the garden photo to open it bigger if you want too.
My dahlias are blooming real pretty.
I’ve had to stake the plants because the blooms make them too top heavy to stand.
If you look to the left of the dahlias you can see a volunteer cherry tomato plant. It already has several tomatoes on it. I can hardly wait for them ripen.
A lot of the flowers in my husband’s flower bed are starting to get some size to them and are blooming well.
You’ll notice that there’s sparse spots where the Gerber daisies are. The rabbits and squirrels have been hard on them.
On a final note, our walnut tree is loaded with walnuts. It looks like it’s going to be a bumper crop year. We don’t use the walnuts for anything, but it’s still a joy to watch them grow. We leave them for the squirrels to eat or store for the winter. There’s been many times we’ve watched squirrels digging up walnuts in the yard. It’s also amazing how many walnut saplings we have to pull up out of the yard, garden & flower beds. We suspect that if we let our property grow wild a few years, it’d be a thriving forest in a very short time.
And so ends this garden update.
Joys Of Creating 
Question: Do you have any suggestions for freezing shelled peas? Mine are all freezer burned, and I can’t figure out if they just don’t freeze well, or if I’m doing something wrong. And walnuts are great preserved in a sugar syrup! It’s just a pain (and a mess) to get them out of their hulls. (I love your food/garden posts, by the way).
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Thanks Stitch Boom Bang
I’ve never frozen peas, but if I did, I’d probably use a blanching method and vacuum pack them. It’s awful about your peas getting freezer burnt. What method do use to package them for the freezer,
Walnuts in sugar syrup sounds delicious. I can imagine it on ice cream, cake, pancakes or hot biscuits. Yum.
Thanks again for the wonderful compliments on my posts.
I enjoy your blog too, I love the hats you knit using the Bill Cosby sweater theme. They’re awesome!
🙂
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(My name is Heather, by the way…) I did blanch the peas, then separated them on a baking sheet to freeze, then I bagged them. Maybe there was a hole in the bag. Maybe they just got old. Who knows. The walnuts get soft when preserved, and can be cut with a fork – great on ice cream, like you said.
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Hi Heather,
I agree, getting old or a hole in the bag can cause some problems. I hope you figure it out.
I didn’t know walnuts could get soft without cooking them. That’s interesting. The walnut sugar mix on ice cream still sounds yummy. 🙂
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I read on a blog post somewhere years ago that walnuts could be used as a natural dye for yarn & fabric. Love your garden pictures.
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Thanks Missy
I’ve not tried walnut dye but I bet it’d be good for it because stains on clothes from the outer hulls rarely come out. Thanks for sharing. That’s a great idea for natural dye. 🙂
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Your garden looks fantastic! I love seeing all your veggies. Wish I was close enough to grab some of those squash! Bravo… well done. I love that you freeze veggies too. Thanks for sharing and keeping us in the loop.
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Thanks so much Colleen
It’s either feast or famine with squash. We’ve shared so much of our squash, that folks are scared to us coming. lol 🙂
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Looks like your veggies and flowers are doing great! Love your dahlias; I’ve never tried to grow them.
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Thanks Dianna
Dahlias are annuals and I’ll have to dig up the bulbs in the fall and keep them inside over winter. I used to grow quite a few colors but forgot to dig them up one fall and the bulbs ruined over winter.
I bet dahlias would grown gorgeous in your region. 🙂
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Ha, ha! I know about saplings in the yard and flower beds; I find pecan saplings all the time and if left very long they’re a pain to get out. I think crows drop them rather than squirrels burying them.
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lol Charlotte
Wildlife sure can make for extra work in weeding. Birds and critters plant nuts & plants all over the place. 🙂
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What a fantastic crop of beans and squash.
Your garden and your activities in it, always brightens up my day!
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Thanks so much Barbara
You brighten my day too. 🙂
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The weeds just don’t give up, do they? Love your colorful veggies, and glad your water carrier is working out for you. I haven’t seen any bunnies in awhile, but we have enough squirrels to make up for the lack. I don’t know why they always have to dig in the flower pots. Burying peanuts, or recovering them, I suppose. Your dahlias look nice. I have one in a pot. It doesn’t look so good. 😉
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Thanks so much Patti
We’re pleased with our harvest so far. The Weeds are a pain. I reckon weeds are just a part of the joys of gardening… (did you catch my sarcasm in that? lol)
Bunnies and squirrels seem to be around constantly for awhile and then disappear awhile. I’m guessing that they spread out in their feeding/breeding range this time of year.
Great idea, Patti. I hadn’t thought about it, but since dahlias are annuals, they could make a good potted plant. Maybe yours will perk up soon and be a beauty for you. 🙂
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Wow. Just wow. Your crops and your flowers are absolutely amazing.
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Thanks TTY
We’re thankful they’re having a good season so far. I’m happy to share them with you. 🙂
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