Fruits of my Labor

Then

Now

Considering that I had very low expectations from my first garden (I just wanted a couple of tomatoes) I am extremely pleased with the harvest thus far. I had (have) more arugula than I could have ever used (now it's getting past it's prime-- what can I do with it?), the radishes were fantastic, the herbs are abundant and very useful. I'm not too sure about the eggplant and the cucumbers are completely shading my zucchini plants (who knew cucumbers had such huge leaves?) but I suspect my neighbor will have more zucchini than she can use. If the cucumbers do turn out I will have lots lots lots of them (how many cucumbers can a family really consume in a week-- 4? 6?).

My first ripe tomato. It was shocking to see the flash of red in my garden and I gasped loudly. I think I even scared Alex. I brought it inside and I was excited to show it to Talia. I worried that her response would be underwhelmed but she was extremely excited and surprised. She wanted to touch it and even taste it. She had a bit of a sour face when she ate it but she said, "Mom I like tomatoes now!" so I guess it wasn't too bad. I think she might really enjoy plopping some sun warmed cherry toms into her mouth. Of course we are going away soon-- just when the tomatoes will be ripe for picking. Luckily a neighbor has been gracious enough to offer to water the garden, pick up our CSA share and eat whatever is ready! Looks like I may end up with WAY more tomatoes than I can handle!

Lastly, I'm pretty sure the "pest" I thought I had in my garden was hail damage. I haven't seen anything else eat my tomatoes or damage my leaves. Nothing, that is, until the Japanese Beetle invasion of July 08. Hopefully the traps will do their job...