Chloe has been eyeing our two largest cucumbers for a week now, begging me to let her pick them. Each day, though they've grown significantly both in length and width, I've felt that they could use more ripening. Well, yesterday when we took a peek and noticed their monstrous size, I decided it was time. The kids were delighted and each picked one, then proudly displayed them for a picture!
I didn't measure them, but I'm sure they exceeded 15 inches in length. Despite the healthy size, however, I still worried that they weren't dark enough in color. But I worried even more that if they got any larger, they'd start to split or rot. Well, I got it wrong all the way around, unfortunately, because they were terribly bitter to the taste, at least a good 4 inches on either end. I don't know if you've ever eaten a bitter cucumber, but trust me, it's very BAD! I was sad, but thankful that the middle sections of each were fine. Upon further research, it appears I let the cucumbers sit on the vine too long, hence the bitter taste. Lesson learned! This morning during our morning inspection, we picked 3 more cucumbers that were about half the size. I just ate one and it was wonderful!
Here's another bit of exciting news from yesterday! Chloe lost her second tooth! This morning I snuck in her room while she slept to make sure the tooth fairy had paid her a visit. Thankfully, she had.
I didn't measure them, but I'm sure they exceeded 15 inches in length. Despite the healthy size, however, I still worried that they weren't dark enough in color. But I worried even more that if they got any larger, they'd start to split or rot. Well, I got it wrong all the way around, unfortunately, because they were terribly bitter to the taste, at least a good 4 inches on either end. I don't know if you've ever eaten a bitter cucumber, but trust me, it's very BAD! I was sad, but thankful that the middle sections of each were fine. Upon further research, it appears I let the cucumbers sit on the vine too long, hence the bitter taste. Lesson learned! This morning during our morning inspection, we picked 3 more cucumbers that were about half the size. I just ate one and it was wonderful!
Here's another bit of exciting news from yesterday! Chloe lost her second tooth! This morning I snuck in her room while she slept to make sure the tooth fairy had paid her a visit. Thankfully, she had.
And here's this morning's harvest!
Every day I've had this garden I've learned something new. Yesterday's lesson? Don't let the cucumbers sit on the vine too long. Today's lesson? Our watermelons will likely need to be twice the size of the 13 inch baby above before they're ready. I didn't know how large they were supposed to be before harvesting because the little label/tag I stuck in the ground when I planted what was then 2 tiny stems has disappeared in the madness of my watermelon jungle. I don't even know what type of watermelons these are, again, because I can't find the tag, but since we literally have two dozen more (no exaggeration), I figured it wouldn't hurt to experiment with this one. I think after my experience yesterday with the cucumbers, I worried, too, that if I let the watermelons sit too long, they might have adverse events like the cucumbers did. I lifted this watermelon off the ground, smelled it, knocked on it, and inspected it just as I inspect watermelons at the grocery store. It appeared to possibly be ready, so I just figured why not and snapped it off the vine. Well, upon cutting into it, I instantly knew my assumptions were premature, and that I should have let it bake for at least a week longer, and possibly more. It was completely white inside and flavorless. Oh well. It still looks pretty sitting on the table with the rest of my garden goodies. I read a few days ago that you shouldn't plant cucumber and watermelon next to each other because cucumber can give watermelon a funny taste. I surely hope this is incorrect, or that I'm just lucky because that's exactly what I did. Their vines have even intertwined. Again, I am learning something new every day.
The largest of the zucchinis exceed even the 11 inch one we discovered upon coming home from our Yosemite trip a couple weeks ago. That's right. This bad boy measured over 13 inches! I would NOT have let it grow this large had I noticed it before today, but it just blended in so well with the rest of the plant that somehow I missed it until this morning. It's a touch seedy on the inside, but not bad at all, thankfully. I have more zucchini than I know what to do with, but have actually managed it pretty well. I have several cups of shredded zucchini in my freezer ready for bread, spaghetti sauce or anything else. And I'm trying to cook with it whenever I can. It is so good for you, and I'm trying not to let ANY of it go to waste!
And the Andersen garden adventures, and, well, adventures in general, continue...
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