Oh, yes, we finally have pumpkins. Quite a few in fact. So I am cautiously (after this season of rain, rain, rain, blight, heat, heat, heat, who wouldn’t be?) optimistic that we may actually get to harvest some pumpkins this season. Here’s to hoping.

Speaking of blight … I never actually pulled my tomatoes. I planned to, but didn’t get around to it. Then I heard that do to the late onset for my plants, I might skirt the issue. So, although these don’t look as vibrant and healthy as I would like, I did pick quite a bunch of sungold tomatoes this afternoon. Yum. I think this might be our favorite variety for munching.

And finally, the Brussels sprouts. I could probably pick and eat them now, but I am waiting just a bit longer — I like mine plump. And oooh, I just cannot wait.

So, how is your garden?

Earlier this summer, rain punctuated each day. We were in a state of constant gray, which was anything but fun. These past few weeks have been quite the opposite — A string of hot, unyielding humidity and anything by rain. The plants have been drooping and sagging under the heat of the sun. It’s like you can never win. (Above: My basil bolted a few weeks ago … I don’t think it’s coming back this year.)

The thing about gardening is that it takes a tremendous amount of patience … I am not the most patient of people. But I have waited and waited for this red cabbage to grow big enough to eat … it’s finally there.

And the pumpkins? Well, there is no stopping them. Let’s just hope they grow … actual pumpkins.

I have probably mentioned before that my cousins are farmers and operate an organic farm. I buy a lot of our veggies from them. But I am so devastated to say that this year, they will not have any tomatoes. At all. If you haven’t heard, late blight has struck with a vengeance here in Connecticut, canceling an heirloom tomato fest and just about ruining the whole season. And unfortunately, my tomatoes have fallen victim too. It’s with a heavy heart that I have to pull the plants and dispose of them (plants with late blight are not recommended for composting).

I am so sad to see them go. But that said, I learned two valuable lessons this year: first, I am totally capable of successfully growing crops. If it weren’t for my lack of a fence and the weather conditions that allowed the late blight to develop and spread, I would be reaping the benefits of these lovely plants now. So next year, I am sure that my work will pay off. Onward and upward … and don’t worry, I still have plenty to write about here, so Fertile Fridays is far from over.

Moving on … Contrary to my local newspaper’s recent report that people are concerned about seeing fewer butterflies this season, I have never seen so many butterflies, dragonflies and other winged creatures on my lawn. Perhaps the butterflies are just taken with my newly discovered fondness for gardening. I jest. Sort of.

Actually, my reason for bringing up this article is that I was surprised by it’s obvious reaching for some degree of agricultural controversy. It suggests that people are worried. But those people seem to be one person, whose garden isn’t as butterfly abundant as in the past. The experts all seem to say that it’s just a late season this year. Using this one person’s experience as the basis for the article seems as irresponsible as me saying that since I have an abundance of butterflies, it must be a banner year across the board for the winged creatures.

Anyway, the pumpkin patch is continuing to grow and take over the nearby section of lawn (and no, it doesn’t bother me one bit). Frankly, this has little to do with me — Will planted the seeds with just a wee bit of help. Then I dumped some grass clippings around them to keep weeds out, moisture in and hopefully make the soil even better for next year. Really. That’s it.

Meanwhile, my Brussels sprouts are coming along swimmingly. I cannot wait to cook these babies. But in the meantime, I am just fascinated by how they grow. As a child, I just couldn’t imagine it. But now that I see them popping up where the stems of the leaves meet the stalk, it’s just amazing. Who thought to pluck these little wonders and eat them?

What’s happening in your garden this week?

Oh my. Apparently, the  pumpkins really like the sunshine and occasionally bouts of heavy rain. In the past week, the leaves have gone from what I thought was a good size to enormous and they have extended vine fingers into my lawn … with curly-ques that are wrapping around whatever they can reach. It’s sort of like Little Shop of Horrors, without the creepy talking plant.

Meanwhile, I picked a handful of ripe sungold tomatoes today and saw several more that will ripen in a few days time. The New Girls are stubbornly green still. So much for being an “early” tomato.

I also harvested three of the green peppers, which I am going to chop and use very soon.

The Brussels sprouts are growing, growing, growing. Of the three stalks I planted, one is quickly developing lovely sprouts and the other two are coming at varying paces. I guess that means three Brussels sprouts harvests for me. Yay!

Strangely though, the carrots … which had shown early signs of growing, have all but disappeared. I am not sure how long I will wait before replanting, but that does seem like the only sensible thing to do if the carrots don’t sprout soon.

That is a palmful of some blissfully juicy, sweet-tart wild blackberries. So tasty.

Last week, I noticed something red in a bush along my driveway while pulling out to go to the store. I didn’t stop at the time, and I mentally wrote it off as some inedible red berries like the perfectly round and frosty-exterior ones I used to squash between my fingers growing up.

Then, while I was walking up the driveway to get the mail yesterday, the spots of red caught my eye again. Except this time, I had the wherewithal to actually take a closer look. Those red berries that I wrote off? Turns out, they were not-yet-ripe blackberries. Wild blackberries.

I couldn’t be more excited. A few years ago, I discovered black raspberries at a family member’s house and made a delightful jam from them. I cannot wait to transform these blackberries into blackberry butter (food mill recommendations, anyone?).

Triumphant, I picked a few ripe ones to sample, sharing with the kids and Shawn. They’re pretty stoked too.

Honestly though, there is one thing bugging me. I have lived here for quite a few years, and this is the first I have ever seen of these bushes of blackberries. This isn’t one little bush, this is many bushes. They will produce pints and pints of berries this season. But why have I never seen them before? Was I so blind to my surroundings for all these years? Seriously?

Have you ever discovered something unexpected on your property? Maybe it’s time to go looking …

It felt like rain threatened to come all day. The grey clouds hung around like unwanted party guests who don’t know when to leave. And just when it was clear that they overstayed their welcome, it rained. In fact, it’s still raining now.

No matter. I have something exciting to show you.

See that? Pumpkin blossoms! Will’s pumpkin seeds, which he carefully planted, are quickly growing into firm, solid vines with fruits developing on them. I haven’t pointed them out to Will yet, but I think I will tomorrow. I can’t wait to see his reaction. I am pretty excited myself for having this much success growing something from seed. It’s really a first for me.

Meanwhile, my tomatoes are growing out of control. Love it. I had to grab some twine and borrow a bamboo pole to anchor them today, since the plants have grown so tall. The few tomatoes we’ve eaten have been sweet and scrumptious. I can’t wait for more.

Over yonder, the pepper plant is producing quite a few lovely peppers as well. We had one last week in a pasta and it was tasty, for sure.

And did I mention that Will and I pulled the broccoli? It had bolted and was making it clear that there would be no more heads this year, so I yanked it all and we’ve planted carrots there. The little growth you see is one just beginning to poke it’s head through the mulch.

What’s going on in your garden this week?

Growing food at home is hard. Really hard. And not in the way I expected it to be. I expected it to be challenging to get plants to grow strong enough to grow up and develop into good. That was the easy part, as it turns out. The hard part? Keeping the critters away from them! Last week it was slugs. This week? Deer. One of my tomato plants shrunk more than I care to think about at the mouths and hooves of deer. I was and am devastated, but we are doing the best we can to move forward.

And by moving forward, I mean erecting rudimentary fencing. Oh yes, that black monstrosity is my temporary barrier to keep deer out and plants in. We need a more permanent solution, but I am afraid it’s just not in the budget yet.

On the positive side, some of the tomatoes are starting to ripen. The surviving ones at least.

Meanwhile, I finally know what the mystery plant is that Will brought home from schools months ago. I’ve called it cucumbers, peas … but it turns out that the plant is (drumroll please!) green beans! And we have a few beans dangling from it already. Very exciting indeed.

The peppers are coming into their own as well. Petite, but perfect. Knock on wood.

And the pumpkins are coming up quickly. We’re using grass clippings in lieu of mulch there, which should make that plot good for the planting next spring as well.

What’s up in your garden this week?

This month certainly feels like it’s been one rain storm after another. Ok. Maybe it feels that way because it has been that way. We’ve had so few opportunities to get outside and enjoy our yard and work on creating more edible areas. But when we have had the opportunity, we’ve capitalized on it – whether that means a game of chase with the kids or weeding a little area that desperately needs it. I don’t know about you all, but I am ready for some serious summer weather.

I just took a quick walk around the yard to check on all the plants. It’s been raining since the afternoon (so what else is new?), so everything is glimmering with water and buzzing with mosquitoes. The tomatoes have grown to unbelievable proportions and have many beautiful specimens on the vines. I need to pick up some twine and tie up one branch that is getting away before it’s too late. Meanwhile, the broccoli has all been harvested — well, what could be harvested. And now is flowering. I am not sure if it will sprout edible bits again, but I am waiting to see. I hate to leave the box alone though … perhaps I should add some herbs in the meantime?

Will’s pumpkin patch is starting to produce some seedlings. YAY! I plan to use grass clippings to mulch around the little plants and ward off weeds. Hopefully that will mean good things for good soil there next year as well.

Meanwhile my gladioli are coming up too. Can’t wait till they flower.

What’s up in your garden?

Tomatoes! Tomatoes! There are real, albeit tiny, tomatoes on our vines! And tons of blossoms just waiting to burst into more tomatoes. The funny thing is that it’s the sungold cherry tomatoes that are growing at lightning speed, while the early tomatoes I planted are ho-humming along. Go figure.

The broccoli is flowering big now, so I am going to pick some to put into a bouquet with daisies and other flowers from around the yard. I am so not a flower arranger, but I will do my best. And of course, I will share a photo soon.

Meanwhile, the peppers are starting to grow tiny little specimens … I cannot wait to pick a peck of peppers. Or something like that.

The blueberries are inching closer and closer to ripeness. I cannot tell you how excited I am to pick fresh blueberries with the kids. They can both devour them by the pint, so it will be fun to see them step just outside and grab fistfuls. (But ZOMG, the weeds. The weeds! They just don’t stop. Guess what I will be doing bright and early tomorrow?)

The spinach is reaching to high heights now. I plan to harvest some more for a delicious salad tomorrow night. I can hardly wait.

And our rosemary has at least doubled in size as well.

One big thing that I have learned this growing season is that as much as the rain totally, totally stinks … it also is huge for my plants. My flowers are surging up to great heights, my veggies are growing beyond my expectations (ok, so I did have very low expectations, but that’s besides the point) and everything is just generally looking more pulled together than ever before.

Planning and executing the gardens around the house has been a wonderful, fulfilling experience. It’s something that I cannot wait to build on in future years too. I’ve heard that once the gardening bug bites you, it’s hard to stop and that is such a truism. I have some lovely new plants to go in very soon and I cannot wait to finish some plantings in the food area of the garden. In future years, I envision more shape to the garden, more flowers, more of everything … I can’t wait till we get there.

We harvested and ate most of the broccoli. But, being novices, we failed to harvest this head in time. Did you ever wonder what happens to broccoli left to grow too long? It becomes a beautiful mass of yellow flowers … who knew?

I also trimmed away some of the larger leaves on the spinach plant (foreground), which we happily ate in a salad. What happened to the spinach? It grew much, much, much larger this week. I cannot wait to harvest some more. I am still waiting to see the Brussels sprouts start to grow.

Although the pepper plant remains rather small, it’s sporting lots of buds that will soon turn to peppers. I am curious to see how it grows since it’s been the most reluctant to rise.

Our newest plant in the garden is the bean plant pictured above. Will grew it in his classroom at school and brought it home about two weeks ago. We got it in the ground last Friday and it’s taken very well to its new home. I hope it makes him proud of his growing skills.

This patch might not look like a lot now, but it’s where Will planted his pumpkin patch. I am hopeful that we will see some good growth soon. He’s so excited and tells anyone who will listen about how we planted a pumpkin patch in our backyard.

The tomatoes are truly thriving. I cannot wait to pick our first juicy, ripe, homegrown ‘matoes. Mmmm.

The catmint is growing like crazy … I am going to have to transplant the smaller plant nestled next to it before it drowns it out completely.

I know, it’s been a shockingly quiet week here on the blog. Quite honestly, it was a tough week for me and I just needed a little time to process things. Rest assured though, everyone is okay and we are headed off this weekend to a happy family celebration. My brother-in-law is getting married tomorrow to a beautiful young woman … and we wish them all the best.

We’ll be back to food, family and happy stories on Monday. Until then, have a wonderful weekend.