production is happening

We will have tomatoes if we have nothing else. The plant to the left, and yes it is a single plant, is the volunteer sweet 100 from last summer. It is one of our favorites. It has needed a cage and two stakes to hold it up. We have more of that variety in the bed below along with romas, which have been abundant, and some slicers that have been slow to mature, but are starting to produce in decent numbers now.

Thinking about starting a second crop. I have two different varieties of seeds that came in form the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange , along with some fall seeds for other crops. We discovered this seed source last summer at a festival in Charlottesville, Va.

We also have cantaloupe maturing, three melons so far.

Of all the lettuce and greens we planted, the red russian kale has been the best producer. It took it some time, but it is thriving even in this heat.

The purple okra has been spotty. This one has produced it's first pod which we picked last evening.

This is the bed where I planted cabbage, broccoli and brussel sprouts. They did nothing all spring so about three weeks ago I cut them all off. Some of them are coming back. Perhaps a late crop for early fall?

And finally some basil. The plants we put out in spring got caught in a late freeze and didn't make it. We planted seeds and now it is in it's full glory.

Strawberries

It's curious to me that strawberries are no longer "in season" in NC, but they are still going gangbusters in our beds.  There are buds, blossoms and ripening fruits all over the place.

rare sighting

I can't remember the last time I saw a praying mantis. This dude just showed up on my office window screen the other morning. Great natural pest control. Go forth and multiply!