I bought some Cucamelon seeds from Terroir this spring but never got them in due to the wet weather. Fortunately, I found a pot of them at Countryside and got them planted in early July, which was quite late.

They grew, slowly at first, and now taking over the whole fence around the cucumber bed. Everything else in the garden has been pulled up, but they are still going strong.

They are typically about 1 1/2 inches long and they taste like a cucumber. The only downside is that the skin is slightly tough.

I’ve been eating them as I walk through the garden. They get a little soft after a day in the refrigerator, so they don’t keep well. I will try and pickle the ones left on the vine and see if they turn out good that way.

I’ll plant them again next year, but from Terroir’s seeds and see if those turn out a little better.

I planted 15 Roma tomato plants. They had the largest, most beautiful Roma tomatoes I’d ever seen. I got 4 or 5 tomatoes, he ate the rest. I had 16 heirloom tomato plants, loaded with tomatoes. We barely got enough for our needs. He climbs fences easily, or lifts them up and crawls under. One day I saw him walking along the top of the chain-link fence on his way to Greg’s garden. Fortunately, for him, he’s a cute little critter…

I’ve been a vegetable gardener since we bought our first house in 1972. Record keeping is important to me as I evaluate varieties of plants, planting times, and what works in this climate and terroir and what doesn’t. So, I initially built this site for myself, to record plant varieties, planting and harvest dates, and anything else that might be useful for future gardens. I find web entries easier than notebooks and it’s hard to put pictures in written notes. With my smartphone, I can access this information anywhere, which is not the case with written data.

Planting and working the garden is in itself therapeutic, and thus has a lot of value. But harvesting the crops provides healthy foods and a connection to friends and neighbors who also benefit from the abundance of my garden. Here in the midwest, having a way to create a longer growing season is important. Hopefully, good record keeping will help me to that end.

But of course, once the data is recorded, there other thoughts and reflections that come into my mind and I have recorded those here also, because, as it has been since the beginning, gardening is not only good for the body but also good for the soul. My original purpose was an online notebook for my own use, but if you find any of this useful or inspirational, welcome.

In September we were finally able to complete a massive drainage project to keep our yard and basement dry from the increased rains that we may be experiencing due to climate change. Ather a summer of topographic maps and engineering. the project is finally complete thanks to Natalie, Engineer, Jason Doland and contractor Gabriel, Inc.

The project is functional as well as beautiful.

The septic tank was reinforced with concrete and rebar as part of the project. The top of the tank is now exposed due to re-grading. I will cover the top with a sectional wooden lath deck that will be easily removable when the tank needs service. the deck will have potted vegetable plants on it. The herb garden near the fence was removed during construction. and a new one will be built within the loop of the dry creek.

Picked a couple of Romas before the groundhog got to them as well as some peppers and zucchini. Cucumbers are doing very well.

The groundhog has been after the Roma tomatoes which are starting to ripen, so I fenced them in before he trashed the crop. They are the biggest I’ve ever seen. I need to talk to Lee Goebbert to see if they are a different variety..

I also closed up the cucumber patch since some of the leaves were chewed on and a couple of cucumbers were chomped upon. Don’t know whether to blame the groundhog or the rabbits.

I picked four champion tomatoes today along with the first mortgage lifter. I will probably need to fence in the tomato patch also.

Cherry and grape tomatoes are coming in heavy, starting to pick a variety of peppers. Shishitos are doing well, but no flowers on the Jalapeno plants, so no new peppers.

Finally, a zucchini is almost ready and there should be eggplant to cook next week.

Picked the first batch of Shishito peppers today and couldn’t wait to get them into the wok. I fry them at medium-high heat in a couple tablespoons of toasted sesame oil until they blister on all sides and then sprinkle them with kosher salt. You eat everything but the stem and they are luscious.

I planted 10 plants. I hope that will be enough.

Pollinators are important for gardeners because without pollination there would be no fruit. Several years ago, I built a “bee block” from a 4X4 with holes in it to serve as a home for these little pollinators after watching them enter holes in the brick wall left by anchor screws used in the old greenhouse.

They are very busy this year building their nests and fun to watch. They are very docile, the males can’t sting and the females won’t unless you try and grab them. I’m not sure what variety of mason bee they are, they are about the size of a housefly and disappear into their holes quickly so it’s hard to get a good look at them to see the coloring. This group seems not to have a lot of coloring and be mostly black.

Our A/C has been out all week and I was up early yesterday because the temp didn’t drop below 80° all night and I had to be ready when George Lax & Co. showed up at 7:30 with a new A/C unit. I looked out the window and there in the path through the garden sat a large groundhog munching away on whatever. I yelled a few expletives and he quietly retreated into the horseradish. Later inspection showed no damage, at least for the time being.

That didn’t last long. I went into the garden this morning to pick some vegetables for out Saturday morning frittata and discovered that he (she) had totally trashed my Lemon Boy tomato plant, taking a three and a half foot plant down to about 1 foot and leaving four half-eaten tomatoes on the ground.

Stay tuned…