Mid-Summer Garden

Dear little garden, I'm already making big plans for you next year. Mostly for the soil, but also in your attire (layout, spacing, companion gardening). I dream of lots of pretty perennial flowers and thriving veggies. Some current observations ~ I planted some things too close together which is stunting their growth (namely the pepper plants). The ants destroyed all the pretty eggplant blooms, leaving me with bare stalks. The ants are now gone, and I'm hoping new blooms will come. The flower seeds I planted either didn't come up at all, or have only grown a few inches tall. Producing no blooms whatsoever. Maybe some of them would be better planted early on or started off in individual cups, then transplanted into the garden. I know the soil is lacking in nutritious matter, which is why this coming fall-winter I plan to cover you with rye grass and feed you lots of compost. Maybe even purchase a bucket of earthworms. :)

But in the mean time I am very much enjoying all the yummy tomatoes, basil, and zucchini. Oh, and visits from Charlotte the Spider. I'm also very, very grateful that Tony's mom is so kind to share her abundance of produce with us. Jalapenos, spaghetti and butternut squash, banana peppers, and even more tomatoes. Earlier this week my counter was completely covered in fresh from the garden produce. Yummy tomato juice, pesto, and jalapeno relish was created.