Catching up

I'm back! Sorry about the long break; I knew I'd be gone a few days over the holiday to visit family but wasn't expecting to get swamped when I got back.

1. Plant something: Nothing recently.

2. Harvest something: Zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, green beans, cucumbers, Tangerine tomatoes, Sungold cherry tomatoes, beets, turnips & swiss chard.

3. Preserved something: Dried green beans, sweet bell peppers, zucchini and squash chips. Canned 24 pints yellow squash. More is waiting to be done, we just need time! We did get 4 more trays of pint jars because we were out.

4. Waste not (preparations): nothing.

5. Want not (manage your stores): Looking for bare spots so we know what we should put up for winter.

6. Build community: Talking with others at the community garden.

7. Eat the food: Yellow squash. Endless snackings of cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Green beans.

8. Crafting: The 'Cold Shoulders' shawl is pretty much done; I just need to add the button to close it with. I've re-started my Twin Leaf fingerless gloves in a different yarn that is better suited to the pattern.

The Zucchini Bat

This is what happens when you don't keep up with them. We were there last Thursday; then the car broke down and we didn't get there again until tonight. The 16-inch-long, 3 1/2lb 'bat' was the same size as the smaller one 5 days ago. These are off the same plant.

Also, just for fun I've added a page called "Harvest 2011." I'm keeping track of the harvest, plus the prices (commercial and organic) with a running total at the top. It's interesting to see the numbers, and know we'll benefit all year from the garden. Anything not eaten fresh will be put up for winter - that's why we have a 40-foot row of tomatoes!