A Midseason Look at the Kitchen Garden

Despite our hot and dry days the kitchen garden has been growing rapidly. Spring provided significant rainfall which gave the seeds a good start but we've petered out and supplemental watering has been necessary with more consistent temperatures near the 100 degree mark.

We've been picking blueberries daily. We have several varieties: Tiftblue, Climax, Brightwell, and Premier. Planting at least two cultivars of the species is necessary for cross-pollination; having three or more with over lapping bloom cycles is even better.

A new addition to our garden this year is the Pink Lemonade blueberry. The unique characteristic of this variety is the fruit which starts out pink and then turns a darker shade of pink when ripe. If you close your eyes you can't even tell the difference from a traditional blueberry.

The strawberries which were transplanted from our old raised beds are starting to put out runners and spread. They adjusted to their new home quickly and have been bearing fruit since Spring.

The Moon and Stars watermelon has been a hit with the kids. This heirloom variety has beautiful spotted foliage

and the fruit is covered with small yellow spots (stars) and one larger spot (moon).

The zucchini are blooming. These blooms are edible raw but they are delicious fried.

~For the batter~

1 cup Flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup fat-free cold milk

Sift together dry ingredients. Whisk in milk until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Pour oil in a skillet to 1/2 inch deep. Heat oil on high heat. Briefly dip each blossom into the batter and add to skillet. Cook until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and eat immediately. Easy and delicious.

The first cucumbers are forming. The culinary possibilities are endless.

The tomatoes are looking delicious. We picked our first tomatoes last week.

The Better Boy seeds which I won from Gardens Eye View (thanks Donna!) are starting to come up. I planted them a little later in the spring so that I could be harvesting tomatoes well into the fall.

I found the first tomato horn worm of the season on the tomato plants. I have to keep a lookout for these caterpillar because they will defoliate the tomatoes quickly. They camouflage so well with all their greenness.

The eggplant 'black beauty' has finally produced some blooms. They are pretty little blooms too!

The muskmelon (cantaloupe and honeydew) are growing quickly. It looks like we will have a bumper crop.

I will be traveling for the next few weeks. I will be posting from the road as there are several gardens and parks that we plan to visit.

Hope you are having a great summer and enjoying the harvest from your garden!