Rumble rumble...

...And the newest monsoon rolls in, just in time to save me from turning on the irrigation again.

The garden is happy and healthy. There are bugs and slugs all over it, but they can't keep up with the exuberant growth. There's enough for everyone.

In addition to our cute baby eggplant, there are several blossoms which will be eggplants in the near future.

The squash vines are huge and are sporting innumerable flowers and several bona fide minature yellow crookneck squashes. Give it a week and we will be eating them.

We harvested three tomatoes today, and there are too many green ones to count. I may even make some fried green tomatoes soon, since we have enough to spare.

I topped the marigolds that edge the garden because they were impinging on the light for the peppers. And lo and behold, I found that one of the banana pepper plants has two blossoms on it.

Some radishes escaped our notice a while back and are now the size of turnips. I wonder if they are still good to eat? And we still have turnips, too. They are amazing plants. If I were a pioneer who had to fend completely for myself, I would plant as many turnips as possible because they provide so many greens and root vegetables for zero effort.

We are drowning in cabbage and collards! I ate so many collards last night that I had a stomachache the whole time I was at work.

The summer lettuce didn't germinate. There is one--count it--one head of lettuce growing, and the rest is weeds. I think it's too hot. The same problem has plagued our latest planting of carrots, although one of the varieties is moderately successful anyway. It must be hardier than the rest.

This is the best garden I've ever had. As much as I complain about bugs and weeds and varmints, I'm really impressed by how much of our own food we've been able to grow so far. I love it. It's something I've always wanted, and it's just as fulfilling as I'd hoped it would be.