I have a problem.  I like pickles.  That, in itself is a good thing because I have lots of them.  More exactly, I have LOTS of cucumbers.  Who would have thought that they would grow so well here in Minnesota.  If you know of anything else to do with them other than pickles, please let me know.  As for me, I make about 6 quart jars of picles A DAY!  This has led me to a few conclusion.  I either need to start EATING them at some point, or find a lot of friends who would all like a jar.  I have a section of my basement that is starting to look like a grocery store aisle.  Maybe I should just put a register by the door and let people in.  I just don’t know why cucumbers, zucchini, and other squash are so prolific when the stuff I want to grow lots of, peppers, are not!  If only hot peppers grew like cucumbers, I would be in salsa heaven.  I really like salsa.  Probably too much, at least as far as my waistband is concerned.  I know, salsa is good for you.  Especially when fresh.  Full of tomatoes, peppers, and if fresh, so too much salt.  Unfortunately, you need some type of chip to go with it, and then I have problems.  With a good salsa, I can finish off a bag of chips in less time then it takes to read this.  So I make it HOT.  Too hot to eat much at once.  Of course, I make way more then I could possibly ever eat myself so I give it away.  It fun to see people say, “Hot, this isn’t hot!  Where’s my water??” 

 As for now, I will just have to be happy with the pickles.  The tomatoes are just starting to ripen, and the peppers have a LONG way to go.

I cannot believe how FAST these things grow.  I have already made 34 quarts of pickles and I have 10 gallons of cucumbers that I just picked outside.  I am not even going to do anything with the zucchini, I hate them.  I only grow them for my wife, who eats them for the first 4 days they are ripe, then ignores them to become baseball bats.  I really like the beans, but I wish they could space out the growing season.  No matter what, I feel so blessed to have a garden and a bountiful harvest.  I haven’t had to buy vegetables for 3 years!!  It’s great to have fresh frozen green beans in December.

 With the heat we have been having, (90 degrees AGAIN today) I am happy to have anything growing.  Time for a little water.  The grass is dead in my yard, but the garden is green. Enough about the garden!  I will be cursing it later tonight while I am making pickles and relish, I can tell already.