[fidelis]

Hi all - Now that the blistering days of June are gone, the garden has suddenly sprung back to life. It's still hot, of course (104-107), but in a humid and sometimes rainy monsoon-y kind of hot- not the dry 114's and 115's. Lot's of plants that like this weather (cucumbers, squash and eggplant) are producing bigger fruit than ever (just harvest a juicy 1-foot cucumber and had it on a salad for lunch today). 'Course that means the weeds are out of control too. And we were able to start using some of the compost from the compost container we started at the beginning of the Spring planting season. :)

I bought a couple of jalapeno plants yesterday at the nursery and have been watching some YouTube videos on pickling. I think I can do this.

[greeneyes]

LOL. I just found a huge cuke hiding behind a big leaf and it is almost a foot long. I rarely have weeds to pull in the raised beds.

It’s another story for the yard. Stuff is knee high and growing fast. Can’t get it dry enough to get out the lawnmower.LOL

Pickling is one of the easiest. If you want to pick up a good all around reference, try the Ball Blue Book of Canning and Preserving. I usually use the cold pack methods easy peasy.