Getting to the end?

We've finally got usable chili peppers, and we've picked two small bowls worth already for use in pickles and some salsa. As it turns out, hot peppers from the garden are much hotter than what we've been buying in the store, and the oils linger on your hands for much longer.


Super Chili #1 looks good.


The Green Bell peppers are still doing okay. We've been leaving a lot of them on the plant so that they'd get larger with thicker walls, but they've just been rotting, so we'll have to start picking them sooner. This guy above is only about 2" tall, though, and I don't think we need to pick them quite that early.


The Red Knights are pretty red, but they're also rotting on the plants before they seem like they should be ready to be picked.


The Beefsteaks continue to ripen. A lot of them seem to be getting eaten by animals before we get a chance to pick them. Some are having the same problem as the peppers, and are rotting before they're ready to be picked.


The Cherry Tomatoes, on the other hand, seem to mostly be doing well, and we have an abundance. Last night we used a bunch in shishkabobs, which added a nice flavor.


These other tomatoes are ripening as well, but a lot of them are scarring before they're ready, which is diappointing.


The cucumbers are pretty much done. The plants have died back pretty far and only a few straggler cukes are still holding on. Next year we'll definitely stagger the plantings for a longer season. And keep an eye out for cucumber beetles sooner.


The squash plants are still huge, and still producing, even though there seems to be a white fungus spreading over some of the larger leaves (you can see it in the upper left of this photo). We've lost two of the smaller squash plants that live in the shade for a greater portion of the day. I think that the soil stays wet for longer in that section, so they just rotted from too much moisture.


As long as these guys all turn into edible squash, though, I'll be happy. I was never much of a fan of squash, really, but I've liked having them around for all the grilling that we've been doing lately.


The basil plants are taking over. They just keep growing and growing, no matter how much we cut off.


The view from above of the cucumber end. You can see that the back trellis is totally empty, as all of it's plants have died away.


The view from above of the squash end of the garden. The dill has all gone by.


In the other corner of the yard, the blueberries also have pretty well run their course. It was sweet while it lasted.


Flowers in the Yard Tangent: Black Eyed Susans. To add a little life to all the rotting, death, and old age of the rest of the garden.

I think the garden is starting to come to the end of it's lifespan this year. Maybe it's time to start looking into fall planting possibilities ...