Beans In My Pockets

It happens all the time: I head out to the garden with a task in mind, and while I'm out there doing that, I see something else that grabs my attention and I'm off on that tangent. And while I'm in the middle of doing that, another thing calls to me and I'm off in yet another direction. It's the same when I'm working in the house, so I don't know why I should think my gardening would be any different.

Late this afternoon, I headed out to the garden to do some deadheading so that I could at least look back on the day and feel like I made myself somewhat useful. I've mentioned before that I have fibromyalgia and sometimes it makes me very uncomfortable due to pain, or it leaves me feeling so wiped out that even breathing is an effort. Sometimes it does both at the same time. For the past two days, it's been the exhaustion. We've had picture perfect days, too, and normally I would be living outdoors, but not when I feel like this.

There... see? I've gone off on a tangent...

Anyway, I was deadheading and noticed the ground was really dry (again), and needed watering. I stopped deadheading and walked up to the pool house to get the sprinkler, hooked it up and started to water the veggies, when I noticed there were green beans that needed picking. I did that, and when I walked back to the house, the cargo pockets on my pants were full. I knew these pants would come in handy in the garden!

We planted Jade Green bush beans this year - same as last - in fact, we planted leftover seeds from last year. We had great germination and now have wonderful large, healthy plants with oodles of blooms and beans. When they first started growing, something was eating holes in the leaves. I didn't see what was doing the damage, but I sprayed them anyway with Garden Safe insecticide and I haven't had to spray them since. I think these are the healthiest bean plants we've ever had!

I picked a few beans several days ago, for the first time this year, and after I got done picking tonight, we have enough for a couple of meals. Green beans are the only vegetable that I will eat canned (versus frozen or fresh, and even then they have to be french style), but I much prefer fresh out of the garden, cooked tender crisp, with butter, salt, and pepper.

We've had a little bit of spinach from our second crop, and the melons are growing noticeably bigger each day. They're the cutest little things right now, with their little stripes and ridges. The strawberries are done and the leaf lettuce is still producing, but a few of the larger plants are starting to bolt.


I've pulled a couple large beets, but the rest of those are pretty small yet. I should have thinned them, I guess. The sweet corn is tasseled out and some of the stalks are shooting ears. The Swiss Chard ('Bright Lights') is getting quite large, and while we could eat it, we grow that just for the fun colors. The onions are growing, but it will be awhile before we eat those.


Finally, the cucumbers are starting to vine up the trellis Romie made and they're loaded with blossoms, as are the tomatoes.

I can't believe it's July already. Just two more months and we'll be heading into fall, with the vegetable garden winding down for the year. But for now, we'll just enjoy this season of good eating, fresh from the garden.