Catch up!

Quick update! The kids finished up school for the year, my parents came to visit, and then it was the 4th of July - and um, I've kind of been neglecting my blog!


Here's the non-raised bed area of the garden as of 30 minutes ago:

For comparison's sake here's the same view taken on July 1st - just 4 days ago:

We're in the middle of a very humid heat-wave, and apparently the plants are loving it!

What else... I picked 3 1/2 pounds of snow peas last week! We're still eating our way through these. There are more peas to harvest, and they're blooming again.

I tasted my very first ripe ground cherry, and it was sooo yummy - kind of like pineapple. Sweet and mellow. Sam tried one and proclaimed that it tasted like "tropical fruit".

Sam helping out.

The reason they call them ground cherries is that the fruit isn't ripe until it's fallen off the plant and been "on the ground" (in a bowl is fine too) for a few days.  At this point the only ripe ground cherries I've harvested have been from the plant I ended up putting in a pot because I didn't have space for it in the garden. I plucked the flowers off all the other ground cherry seedlings to encourage root growth, so they're a little behind this guy fruit wise (but are *much* huger).

Fallen ground cherries.

As you can see, the cherries grow in little husks, like tomatillos. Inside there's what looks like an orangish/yellowish berry.

Not my pic, but I hope to have a harvest like this soon!

I read that each ground cherry plant can produce up to *300* fruits. so with any luck by the end of summer I'll have ground cherries coming out of my ears. Ground cherry preserves anyone? If you know me there's a good chance you'll get some for Christmas!

I'd also read that ground cherry plants can take over a garden. I'm on the verge of experiencing that.

Ground Cherries 7/1

Ground cherries today (and my feet!)

Looks like we should also have an awesome grape harvest this year - so big batches of Concord grape jam may also be in our future this fall! Here's hoping!

A glimpse of some grapes-to-be

I love gardening season - even if I don't have time to write much about it!