Getting started.

I suppose I've put off starting this blog for long enough. I never knew where, or when, would be a good time to start. This week we (my Mrs and I) are nearing the end of the strawberry harvest for this year. This has been our first year growing Chandler berries and they are the tops! Big and juicy. In years past we have grown Ozark Beauty, and they were satisfactory, but smallish and they tended to rot on the plant if not harvested daily.
 This past week I harvested the last of the Early Frosty sweet peas and put up 8 pints for a later date. This was my first venture into canning and things went rather smoothly. It was far easier than I had anticipated.
 Next up for harvest are the beets and carrots. I started pulling beets this week, it is my first season growing beets and I wasn't sure I'd like them, as I have never had fresh beets and I am not a big fan of canned/pickled beets. I pulled about a half dozen, they were about 3" in diameter and I brushed them with some olive oil and baked them at 350 for about 20 minutes. They were quite tasty just like that. I think next time I might try sprinkling them with a little cinnamon and maybe some butter. I've read that the greens can be used in salads but seeing as how I have lots of other greens for my salads, I might hold off on that idea until this fall's crop.
 I'm starting to see female flowers on the Russian cucumbers, so it shouldn't be long now before I'll have some pickles to make. This is my first year growing this variety, and it will be my first attempt at making pickles and sweet relish. I hope I don't end up with 'Aunt Bee' pickles (those of you who watch Andy Griffith know what I mean). I am also growing Suyo cucumbers, as my DW (dear wife) likes them for slicing. I grow them over a half round cage so they can hang straight down and are easy to harvest.
 I am also seeing the first flowers forming on the Mortgage lifter and Stupice tomatoes. I have been growing Stupice for several years. I like this variety because it is a very early producer for me and I can't wait for tomatoes early in the season. I am growing twenty Celebrity tomato plants this year to make salsa to put up and because they are a variety you can count on to produce a good crop.
 Well, that's about enough for the first post. I am off to New York to see my daughter this weekend, so I'll be away from the garden. I hope I don't get an attack of potato beetles while I'm away.