After ...

A garden can change a LOT in two weeks!

I returned from vacation to beds overgrown with weeds and plants that I can't even guess where they came from! Tomato plants, tied up and supported as well as possible before leaving the country, had grown enough to flop and break. The basil was in serious need of cutting back. The Mexican Hibiscus seedlings were hidden within a crazy inundation of grass. Monster gourd plants were flourishing!

Thankfully, it didn't take long for me, along with some good help from Rouse the Spouse, to get all the beds cleaned up, back in order, neat and tidy. Check out the okra in the middle bed in the photo below. It's ready for hot weather!

The garlic was not quite ready to pull the day we left for France. By the time we returned, I had almost missed it! The bulbs are now hanging in the shed to dry/ cure, but there will be no pretty garlic braids this year. The greens are too far gone for that.

There were cucumbers ready to pick! I promptly sliced them and started a jar of refrigerator pickles. You can find the recipe for Refrigerator Pickles on my blogpost dated June 18, 2016 .

The entire crop of salad turnips had to be harvested. Unfortunately, the green tops were riddled with bug damage. They went directly into the compost pile. Some of the roots had grown a bit large, but were still delicious to eat. We ate the smaller ones fresh, as snacks out-of-hand, sliced into salads, or served as crudités. I sliced and braised the larger ones with onions and carrots.