Rain!

I get to the family garden about once or twice a week. Wednesday, was one of the days, last Friday the last. Today, Friday, again. In that time my home garden, AKA the potager, has gotten 0.3 inches. The family garden was almost muddy when I went to there Wednesday. My brother told me they have gotten 3.0 inches since Friday.

Wow! What a difference. The lushness of the garden is spectacular. While my brother has been zone watering throughout the summer, having 3 inches fall from the sky is just incredible.

The California Wonder and Planet hybrid pepper are starting to produce. I picked 3 gallons of 'Contender' beans Wednesday, another 3 gallons today. The basil is doing wonderfully. I have already minced and mixed with olive oil a couple of ice cube trays of the stuff and then froze them.

I'm still waiting on the cucumbers, cape gooseberries, sweet corn, and tomatoes; but it will be soon, very soon.

In my own potager, I am picking 2 pints of blackberries about every other day. I made a blackberry cobbler, but am typically freezing them. My raspberries literally shatter into a million minute pieces when I attempted to freeze them, so I have eaten the few I have out of hand. I have to think they are but another victim of that bad late hard freeze in April after a record hot March. Today I shared a pint of mixed red raspberries and blackberries with the twins. One of my nephews ate them quickly in great galloping gulps, barely coming up for air.

I've planted late peas.

Sunday, my sister-in-law, one of her friends and I will blanch and freeze all the green beans.

Today, I rototilled through the rows I could still get through. The cucumbers and sweet potatoes are moving on any free real estate; the corn looks like something out of a Hollywood movie. The amaranth is starting to look scary in its proportions. You would not think there is a record drought holding thousands of counties in this country in its death grip. This garden is lush.

My mother stays put up every bit we can.

My brother wants fruit. Good luck with that!