A bit of then and now

Sometimes early in the season it's hard to visualize how things are going to progress.  It's part of the reason that I sometimes end up with plants too close together.  As long as I've been doing this I just can't imagine they are ever going to fill in that whole space.

So how about we check that out:

Started out looking pretty sparse - cucumbers and peppers

Hiding behind cucumbers now

Cucumbers overtaking 

So my thought at this point is if the cucumbers come to fruition I can cover the world! Cause they are growing out front too!

Started out looking pretty controllable:

Now they are exploding like the ones out back!

No telling if every blossom will produce a cucumber but I tend to plan as if they will.  My highly regarded and extremely sought after Bread and Butter Pickles look to be a good bet for this Christmas - and well into the new year!

The tomatoes appear to be following the same pattern although I see signs of the leaf yellowing that sometimes can overtake an entire plant and destroy it:

Freshly planted tomato plants and hot peppers - looks like a lot of room for not much!

And now my biggest worries are finding the actual tomatoes 

And for a last look - how about those spindly little onions lurking next to the peas?

It was an experiment and I really didn't expect much at all

 They are actually onion-ing!

If it appears that I am bragging it's that I sort of am.  Things can still go south on me - there are a lot of factors involved in gardening.  But so far the combination of the water cannon and the Epsom Salt watering have produced some amazing results.  Last year the bed where the beets are growing got eaten to the dirt by the woodchuck (I do wish I lived farther from the police station and my 22 had a silencer) but this year:

Just look at them suckers!  Three meals of greens with beets so far and hopes of a lot more

I may even have enough home grown beets for pickled beets to can - pretty cool, I'm thinking!

So if you are still traveling along this trip with me now we just have to wait and see how things go.  Judicious watering and the addition of a lot of compost from my bins have carried me so far -  hopefully the plants will continue to play on the winning side of this game!

In a world where the bad news and confusion and angst sometimes seems to be all there is - cruelty to man and animals alike - some days you just need to go weed the garden.