Garden

So the garden has had its ups and downs this first year. Lots of learning to apply to next year. The broccoli had a great run before the plants got infested with a worm. I noticed one or two early on but didn't think anything of it as it was only a few...that was the big mistake. When going organic, bugs can multiple in no time....soon all the broccoli plants were covered in worms. We had done a great deal of harvesting by then and we were actually sick of eating broccoli and had started freezing it anyways....so the damage was non recoverable and I pulled all the plants this week. Which BTW is giving room for my crazy cucumber plant (which I thought had died) to run rampant. I already made one batch of pickles...or "picks" as Jayce calls them, which I did not like, so this week I'll try another recipe. The tomatoes do have the blight that everyone has been getting but it hit us late and most of the crop is doing fine. I did make a baking soda, castile soap & olive oil spray which seemed to keep the blight at bay. Also, I learned that if you pick the tomatoes before they really turn red, you can make a great orange colored spagetti sauce. The pre really ripe tomatoes keeps the water content down and reduces cooking time and nutrients in your sauce. The eggplant has been great...but slow growing. We've gotten 4 this season and a lot more on the way. We should have harvested a lot more by now, so must be the cool weather. I'll also cut back on the green beans next year and double up on peas instead. But all in all well worth it!