The picture above shows the peas harvested on 7/1/10. About an hour and a half later, I had a bowl full of peas. This year, I thought I would try drying them. I blanched them, then coated them with olive oil and salt. After about 20 hours of dry time they shrunk A LOT! Canning is better.
The cucumbers will succeed this year. The marigold/radish barrier did not work as advertised. Sadly, I did have to resort to using SEVIN. After five treatments, with no sooner than three days spacing, the problem seems to be gone. From what I can see, the mating season for the cucumber beetle is very short. See also http://www.vegedge.umn.edu/vegpest/CUCS/scb.htm.
The tomatoes are doing well with only a little spotting on the bottom leaves. The spinach bolted shortly after the weather got hot. That patch only yielded two small quarts for freezing. So, the spinach patch is barren at the moment, and I think I will plant carrots there instead of the cucumber patch location. The cucumbers failed last year leaving the spot for the carrots. I mis-judged how long the cucumbers would occupy the space, so planting carrots in the empty spinach patch makes sense. When the cuces are done, that area can be replaced by broccoli.
Oh yeah-- I hung peppermint and st. john's wort flowers in the tool shed to dry.
Next step: Plant carrots and start brussels sprouts and leeks in containers. Cabbage can wait longer for the beans to be done (I hope).
