The September Garden

We have had so much rain here in the last couple of months, my garden has suddenly awakened and is showing signs of life again. This Japanese eggplant is loaded for the third time this season. This one plant has been so good to me.

I grew beans earlier this summer, but then decided not too long ago to try a late summer bean crop. All I did was pop a few bean seeds into the dirt. The bean plants shot right up. It seem like just yesterday I planted them, and now every day this week I have picked a handful of green beans.

Just enough for a dinner for two. Nothing cheers me up more than a meal made of fresh vegetables grown right in my own backyard.

The basil is thriving too. It looks better now than it has all summer. I love herbs from the garden. They give foods a delicious burst of fresh flavor.

Look at this! A little baby cucumber. I grew cucumbers for the first time this year and had tons of cucumbers earlier in the summer. Then the plants stopped producing and looked quite pathetic, so I pulled all the plants up except for one, which showed signs of hope with a few young bright green leaves. The garden is now rewarding me by flowering and showing some promising signs of delicious fresh vegetables in the weeks to come. I'm thinking pickles.

I also tried growing okra this year. I only have a few plants that my mom gave me, and they are doing great. Okra rewards you every day at the end of summer. It is quite easy to grow, tolerates the heat, and I haven't seen any pests. I could pickle some okra too...since I don't have much growing. I love pickled okra. A bloody mary just isn't complete without pickled okra.

Growing vegetables makes me happy.