Scary, awesome things

First, a cool picture of a nuclear-explosion-looking thunderhead forming on the other side of the Valley:

So, not to alarm anyone, but I found this in the "back plot" - my equivalent of a garden junkyard:

Yes, that is a ZUCCHINI. Already. Still small, only 3 inches long, but come back tomorrow and see how big it's grown....
I actually have 5 zucchini plants in the back plot. I don't even remember leaving that many behind when I left in May. They are thriving on total neglect- I left them, unwatered and unweeded, for a month, and they are going crazy. This just supports my hypothesis that in the event of an apocalypse we (at least in Virginia) could survive on zucchini alone. Of course, we may not want to- I only enjoy eating zucchini if it is disguised in other food (bread, deep fried, even cookies?).

Rollin Hay

Hay is being rolled up in fields everywhere around here- it was already cut and drying when I get back. This week the guys rolled it and immediately moved it. This was taken the one day they left it sitting in the field. No messing around this year.

It seemed like the hay is ready earlier this year. I went back and checked the blog for 08- my hay-making post was at the beginning of July. So, indeed, the grass is growing a little faster this year, probably because of all the rain.

Back from Ireland

So, I am finally back from my travels to Ireland and elsewhere. I have been gone for almost a month, and was pretty convinced that my groundhog and bunny neighbors would have eaten the entire garden by now. But, actually, most things were relatively fine (except for the lettuce, which looks like everyone insect and mammal had their fill- which is ok, because it must be bitter by now anyway).

The plants on the porch made it through just fine, even without an irrigation system. It apparently rained almost every day for several weeks. But, unlike last year, it was warm enough to keep the tomatoes from getting seriously messed up from blight and mildew.



The bean and pea side of the garden looks like a field of grass. There are actually beans in there. The peas never made it very far, because it got too warm and also because they are tasty to animals.


The tomatoes and onions are doing pretty well.


I have been slowly pulling the weeds and grass out of the garden. The "back plot" tomatoes and zukes also made it through the absence. Other, less durable plants back there (cukes, eggplant, extra peppers) did not.