Garden Updates for July and August

I meant to post photos of our gardens last month.  I really did!  Well, I guess it's better late than never!  Perhaps you can see the changes in our veggie garden from one month to the next.

July 2010- Purple coneflowers and the Black-eye susans are in full swing (as is my limelight hydrangea in the back)

July 2010- My one giant sunflower by our front entry way (in the past I've had a forest of sunflowers in this location.  This year there's only one).  Now the flower is super heavy with seeds and chickadees like to visit it.

July 2010- veggie garden (see those bean teepees?  Scroll down to see how they look in August!)

July 2010- ah, the joys of having a small pool in the garden (entertainment for the girls while I work!)

July 2010

AUGUST 2010.  Notice a difference in the bean teepees??????

August 2010- Yowzers!  Those are some BEANS! (along with some giant kale)

August 2010- Girls are holding up what are called Red Noodle Beans- they're supposed to be yard-long beans.  I grew them just because I was curious!  They're fun to munch on while I'm working in the garden.

August 2010- Annika next to the pepper and GROUND CHERRY bed.  Oh my.  Those ground cherry plants REALLY looooooove it there!  Have you ever tried a ground cherry?  A few years ago I read about them in a gardening magazine (they're touted as one of the few annual fruits available) and I HAD to try growing them.  They really are sweet and yummy!

August 2010- a few spoils from the garden!

Harvest Season:
So far, I've canned two kinds of pickles (hamburger dill and curry), made ground cherry jam, canned salsa (Annie's Salsa Recipe found here but you'll have to scroll down the page to find it), pulled the onions and most of the shallots and picked most of the dried shell beans. Carrots also have been pulled. 


We've been eating fresh veggies from our garden every day.  Most meals turn into a game, "How Many Kinds of Veggies Can I Cram Into One Meal?"  I'm grateful my family are good sports about the whole thing!  


I really should do a fall planting...if I actually manage to get time to do one!  It'd be nice to have more carrots and spinach.


I'm already thinking about next year's veggie garden.  
How about you?  Are you planning what your garden will be like next year?