Harvest Monday: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

 I'm back from my week in Haiti and trying to get back to normal routine in the home and garden. The trip was one of the amazing experiences of my life and I will post a little about it later in the week. Meanwhile, it's Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions so I'll talk about the good, the bad and the ugly this week! Don't forget to check out all the other great harvests there.
Let's start with The Good: My husband took great care of the garden, harvesting, watering and even some weeding! He blanched and froze veggies for the winter! What a guy! He kept a record of weights too so I would have no gaps in my log.

 Things are coming in like gangbusters. We are experiencing the zucchini glut!!! Yes, we are! I've had more than enough to freeze and I'm scrambling for more recipes to use it in.

 Green beans are coming in strong. My main variety is called Fresh Pick, from Johnny's Selected Seeds. What I like about it is I get a great harvest now, and when it stops, just wait about 2 weeks and a second blossoming begins and I will get another good sized harvest. We love green beans so it is good to have lots to put up.

 Carrots are sizing up, but very slowly. My second planting of broccoli is producing and I am actually able to put some in the freezer. This is a first and very welcome since broccoli is by far our favorite veggie.

And then, my first pattypan squash ever. I imagine you prepare it like any other summer squash and I look forward to trying it out tonight. In the photo at the top of this page you can see my first eggplants of the year and my first Sungold tomatoes along with some peppers. Bring on the fruits of summer!
OK. Now I have to go on the The Bad and The Ugly. I hate this, but it's the reality of gardening. The Bad: An awful lot of my plants, most notably my tomatoes, are exhibiting disease. The tomatoes are loaded with green tomatoes so I hope I can keep them going til they ripen. I prune the diseased leaves agressively and that seems to help slow things down a bit.
But I'm far less concerned about that than about The Ugly: I noticed the carrot tops seemed to be munched on and saw that a number of my melon plants had been denuded. Roh-roh! Then I found it. Or them...two huge holes dug deep and under the fence, irrefutible evidence that a groundhog has found its way into my garden. I filled the holes with dirt, but that won't stop it. I have to do something pretty drastic and I dread going down there today to find more damage. I'm still recovering from a pretty exhausting trip and have to dredge up the energy to deal with things, but I'm sure I will very soon.
All in all I'm very happy with things, despite the negatives. It's hard to leave a garden at the height of the season. My first day back I harvested over 21 pounds of produce and spent the whole afternoon putting it up for winter. This week I'll spend my time getting back to normal and reflecting on how much we have here after seeing first hand how little the people of Haiti have. I am so blessed and need to be grateful despite The Bad and The Ugly which by comparison to the sufferings of so many people in the world are nothing!
Have a great gardening week and enjoy the fruits of your labors with gratitude!