And July rolls on

Monday, the seventh..

Picked the garlic scapes today- really should have done that sooner I guess. But there's a heap of them that I will steam and saute tomorrow. Picked the first five cue ball squashes today too. Those will get made into something- maybe a casserole of some sort. And I picked all the lettuce, it's getting to be bolting time.

Ran out to the dealership this morning and picked up a new deck clutch cable. Only 20 bucks and I still need to get it onto the mower tomorrow.

The first of the banana peppers are almost ready to pick- Of course those will get canned up into rings. Unfortunately, no beans will really be forthcoming this year from our garden, damn critters. So I will have to pick up a bushel or two and do a ton of dilly and hot beans. The tomato plants are taunting me!

Thursday, the tenth...
Cut off the garlic scapes the other day- still need to steam and saute them. Picked the first handful of cue ball squash too, yum.
Today I started pulling up garlic!! Woot on a wootstick :)

From left to right is all 6 Kankakee softneck, 1 Kankakee hardneck, all 6 Skips 1, all 4 Up North, and all 12 Porcelain Pearl. Now I just need to be patient while they cure up- which can take another month or two depending on how humid it is around here. Curing is simply keeping them in a cool, dry, airy spot till the roots get crispy and the skins are well dried.
Still in the bed are Giant Russian, Leningrad, Skips 2, Skips 3, and the rest of the Kankakee Hardneck. Didn't pull those yet because their bottom leaves were not quite died back enough. But those will get pulled in a week or two, and I'll put in some carrots or something to get a crop in before I plant in seed garlic again in October.

And oohhhh, I got a vacuum sealer a couple weeks ago on sale at a great price. Picked up a regular mouth and wide mouth jar attachments yesterday. My food preserving capability just shot up. SQUEEEEEE with joy!