Musings....& My First Posted Pictures

Okay, so it's back to nearly 100-degree temperatures here in Northeast Ohio, and of course no rain. I even read in the paper today that conditions are a lot like the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, only that because we use better farming practices, we're not subjected to the great dust storms like they had back then. Odd that we're in the middle of a worldwide deep recession (depression?), just like the 1930s, and we're having a major drought, just like the 1930s. 

German Queen tomato

I harvested a large German Queen tomato yesterday.

Soon-to-be 300-lb pumpkin--I hope!

And I've been watching this pumpkin that's supposed to get to 300 pounds. This picture is about a week old--the thing's about twice this size now!

I picked a cucumber today. Just one, cuz the rest are still a little small. Here's a recipe for sour cream & dill cucumbers, really old fashioned--my grandmother used to make these, and my mom still does:

Cucumbers in Sour Cream

2 Cucumbers

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 Tablespoon fresh dill, roughly chopped

1/4 cup sour cream

Peel and slice cucumbers about 1/4" thick. Spread out and salt cucumbers (both sides); allow to drain through a sieve for about 20-30 minutes, then rinse well with cold water. Mix in dill and onions, then fold in sour cream. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to let flavors develop. The sour cream gets thinned out by the juices of the cucumbers and onions and is very refreshing with sliced tomatoes for lunch or dinner.

I'm reading All New Square Foot Gardening and wishing I'd had this book in March, before I bought a bunch of dirt that turned out to be mostly clay and put it in my raised beds. I'm going to have to add peat moss and vermiculite this fall when I take everything out. Gotta make the best of the situation. I'm still having a ball gardening!

So what about you? What's your story? How'd you get into playing in the dirt?