I Couldn't Wait Any Longer

Ta-da!

Our first pepper!  It's a type of sweet pepper called a "gypsy pepper," and the idea is that it produces lots of nice fast-growing peppers that would, in the garden of a more patient person, turn red.  We'll be testing that with future peppers, but for now it makes a really nice green pepper too.  Maybe a little less bitterness than green bell peppers?  Don't quote me on that--I love bell peppers of any sort, so I don't think the green ones are bitter, so the best judge would probably be someone who doesn't like them.  Still, a nice thick skin and great flavor.  The knife is in the picture to give you a size idea.

I have been patrolling the garden daily--especially the cucumbers as I am something of a cucumber maniac in the summer and it is late July and about cucumber time.  The plants are going crazy

as are the weeds.  (Incidentally, just in case you were wondering, horse manure is a wonderful fertilizer, but it makes EVERYTHING grow--including whatever weeds the horse ate but didn't thoroughly digest.)  Notice those amazingly large and un-cucumber looking leaves???????

Yeah--that would not be a cucumber.  My money is on spaghetti squash, mostly because I didn't plant it this year, and it seems to be taking its revenge.  This

is from a SECOND spaghetti squash plant that I didn't actually plant.  I'm just hoping that this,

which is growing on the back of the tomato bed, turns out to be a regular pumpkin as I think three spaghetti squash is a pretty cruel trick even for a garden.  Not that I have anything against them--they're fine, but they don't keep as well as hubbard squash and my plan this year was to plant 2 butternut squash, 1 Hubbard squash, and 1 "giant" butternut.  But I am trying to enjoy the mystery and excitement of never knowing WHAT I'm going to get when I plant the garden.  Everyone likes surprise parties, don't they?

I was relieved to find that at least some of my cucumbers are actually cucumbers, and a few are almost ready to be picked!

And I keep checking our garlic, but it's still too early I think. 

The heads on this hardneck really aren't formed yet.  I'll check some of the others tomorrow.  Thank heavens I know THEY aren't spaghetti squash!