I'm Back!

Hi Everyone,

After a month long absence from the blogging world, I am back--alive and kicking. I apologize for not blogging for so long. Cam has been sick and my great-uncle (my grandmother's youngest brother) passed away. On top of this, I've gone to two children's writing conferences.

I do have one piece of good news: I have two literary agents currently reviewing my manuscripts, so I hope that at least one of them will take me on as a client. That would be wonderful... and a step closer to getting published. Please pray for me and hopefully something wonderful will happen soon.

Back to the garden.... Everything is coming along very nicely, despite the cold fronts that we've had. Tomorrow, there is a frost warning... but I'm hoping my vegetables survive.

The cabbage head was killed off my bugs, the bell pepper plants seem to FINALLY producing fruit, and the eggplants are still going strong. The watermelon is on its last leg--but we've had plenty of watermelon fruit that we've enjoyed. All of this and more on upcoming posts this week and next.

For now, I leave you with a recent harvest from the garden.

Below: Lots of tomatoes... A few beans

September Beans

Hi Everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.

I wanted to update you on my green bean plant. It has done remarkable well, and it is still producing. Some of the leaves are getting a little brown, but there are tons of new blooms and baby beans on all the plants. I've gotten an amazing harvest from my two rows of beans this summer. I don't know how much longer they have, but I am just enjoying my time left.

Next summer, beans will definitely be on my list to plant. I will buy the beans that grow up. The bean variety I bought this year was the bushy kind. So cucumbers and beans have been extremely successful in my garden.

Below: New blooms
I love the graceful look of the blooms. It's so dainty and precious. Their white color screams more baby beans to come.

Below: Bloom and babies
I didn't do much research on beans before I planted them. I put one row in a sunny area, and the other row was in shade. By far, the beans in the shade have been the best producer. The ones in the sun have also produced beautiful beans, but the shaded beans produce much more. Next year, I will do several rows of beans in the shade.

Below: Lots and lots of green beans



Below: My most recent bean harvest
Mostly, I've been eating lots of green bean stir-fry with white rice. Green beans are always on my family's grocery list, and this summer, that's one thing we've been able to save money on. The seed packet, which cost only a few dollars, has saved us lots of money. =)

What are some of the best producers in your garden?

This Week's Harvest

This has been a rather good week for us in the garden. The tomatoes continue to ripen, and I was able to harvest two regular-sized tomatoes (no bird holes, thank you!) and lots and lots of cucumbers and green beans.

The apples still continue to grow on the tree, and I haven't harvested any additional ones because I don't have the time to devote to make delicious apple desserts. I did have a request to post the recipe for the apple pie, so when I find the time, I will reveal my culinary secrets to you. :-)

Below: Tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans


Below: Two views of more cucumber harvests.



The cucumbers are growing at an amazing pace. We harvest at least one every day. I think that I'll seriously must learn how to pickle soon. When work slows down and I have extra time, I will have to make some dill pickles with these delicious and crunchy cucumbers of mine! There are just way too many to eat all at once!

Hmm, I wonder how much longer the cucumber plant will produce. I'm hoping it won't stop until fall. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

The green beans are growing wonderfully too! The leaves on the plants have a few holes, but thankfully, the bugs haven't gotten to the beans yet. They are still green and perfect, no mark of nasty bugs!

Happy Gardening!

This Week's Harvest

I'm participating in the Nashville 48-Hour Film Project this weekend, so I don't have much time to post or comment on friendly blogs. Anyway, I wanted to show you my vegetable harvest for this week! It's been very fruitful week! The harvest is plentiful and everything is delicious!

Apples, green beans, cucumbers and eggplant!








I'm participating in the Nashville 48-Hour Film Project this weekend, so I don't have much time to post or comment on friendly blogs. Anyway, I wanted to show you my vegetable harvest for this week! It's been very fruitful week! The harvest is plentiful and everything is delicious!

Corn and Green Beans

The corn and green beans at my parents' house are growing strong. Maybe it's the good soil, the one my father has kept in impeccable shape. Or it's the sunlight .. Whatever it is, I'm just in awe of the healthy growth. Since we only planted the seeds for these a month ago, they aren't large enough to actually harvest any vegetables. (I am so jealous of you gardeners who have abundant vegetables waiting to be picked out of your garden!)

Below: The tall corn... Behind it are the green beans

I think I waited rather late to start my garden this year. Next year, I will start to do a little bit more research about the exact type of plants I'll need. And I will start planting seeds and seedlings in late March or early April. Of course, the tomato plants will need to wait until after all threat of frost. But I might try other cool, spring vegetables.

I wonder if it is too late to plant more seeds? What are some vegetables that perfect to plant now? Any ideas?

Back to the green beans. At Cam's house, I pulled out all the dead pea plants and replaced them with green bean seeds. Hopefully, I will have better luck.

The green beans in the shaded portion of my parents' raised beds are growing at a remarkable rate. Some of the leaves aren't so pretty, but for the most part, they are green and growing.

Below: Green beans... We should thin it out, but I don't want to minimize my chance of getting a good harvest.


I wonder if this is the beginning of a tiny bean... Could it be or is it just my wishful thinking? :-)

Attempt at Growing Green Beans

Today's post is short and sweet.

With the failure of my pea plants at Cam's house, I am optimistic about the green beans that I'm trying to grow at my parents' home. Two weeks ago, my sister and I planted two long row of bean seeds (one in full sun and one in partial shade). I'm going to see which one survives the summer.

Below: The bean seedlings are coming up.
On a shocking note, my sister saw a 6-foot snake sitting on my parents' porch yesterday. She said she didn't know what kind it was, but it was long and it had a bulge in its body. She assumed it was an animal the poor snake killed. It slithered away after an hour of lying in the shade. My mom wanted to call Animal Control, but they were closed by that time.

Anyone know what you do if you find a poisonous snake in your yard and you don't want it there?

Well happy news... it's cloudy and rain is a possibility. Yay!