Back to the jungle

After a week in the woods, I came back to a mighty harvest of veggies! The African Basil was overflowing with purple flowers 3" high. This little plantling has become a thigh-high shrub with tons of beautiful purple/green leaves. The other two basil plants had lots of large, green leaves to pick off, and the hot peppers were ready in record time. I picked about 15 of those off, with lots of smaller ones left behind to grow. I also carried out an armful of cucumbers and 2 large red onions (which matured in only 60 days).



I collected the basil to make Basil Soba Noodles again and went over to Laura's with Karen for another Garden Dinner Night. We also enjoyed Mint/Raspberry mojitos (after several trips to the garden and store), a squash casserole, a large hunk of meat and sauteed beet greens and chard, and for dessert, a delicious raspberry-rhubarb crisp.





The other gardens look like jungles as well, with squash plants overflowing the plot boundaries and cucumber vines taking over anything vertical. The dill some of the cilantro has gone to seed, so I hope to collect the dry, brown pods if it ever stops thunder-storming (tornado warning in Taunton right now).