Anywho, the weather has been crazy here in central Iowa. It's been rainy, rainy, rainy. But it's also been hot, humid and sticky. It's a strange combination -- almost like we're living in the Amazon instead of in the corn fields of Iowa.
The cucumbers I planted from seed back in early June are growing like mad. I've never grown cucumbers before, and now I'm hooked on them. It's so much fun to watch the vine crawl up the trelis. And I can't believe how many cucumbers I've gotten from just four seeds.
These are "Mrs. Pickler" cucumbers from Earl May, an Iowa garden center. (If this picutre looks hazy, it's not your imagination. It's so humid outside, my camera lens fogs up.)
Here's a really odd shaped pickle I found. It's huge because I didn't find it early amid all the vines.
I also found a little space in my garden to plant a fall crop of lettuce in mid-July. My hubby really likes the Buttercrisp lettuce, so I stopped by the local Earl May to buy a packet of seeds. I also found another quick-growing variety to plant. Earl May in Clive (or is it West Des Moines?) had a really good selection of fall vegetable seeds, including radishes, turnips, carrots and beets, if you're still looking to grow a few veggies yet this growing season.
I've been picking my container-grown peppers and tomatoes before they are ripe, before the bugs and the wet weather do them in.
The Iowa-grown sweet corn is also at its peak. I'm trying to stop by the local sweet corn stand at least once a week to freeze as much sweet corn as I can for the winter. I especially love sweet corn at Thanksgiving time.
And one last funny note: My neighbor's cat has been camping out underneath one of pine trees every night, waiting for big, juicy locust to drop from the branches. The neighbor says locusts are like dessert for cats. Strange, yes. But still adorable. I love that our yard is a welcoming place for all cats and bugs alike.
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