red pepper and patience

This red pepper is what I have waited for all summer. It took a while to grow into a big green pepper. "Go ahead and pick it," they said. "The deer will eat it," they said. "It's so big!," they said. 

No. I want to wait until it turns red. 

They were shocked when it finally started turning red. The turning itself took several days. 

It happened in the garden in the background of this picture. 

I need to plant more okra next year, as this year's harvest has happened one or two pods at a time. Mema showed me her Our State magazine, where I read about okra and the writer's suggestion to try a pod raw. That makes sense when you only have one, and I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. 

Mema gave me the idea to take a picture from above. It is almost a heart. A. labor. of. love! 

Everything I do is hand me down style. Besides learning the how-tos from friends and family, I followed my great grandmother's model of planting, working, then leaving town. During the most productive days, especially with the cucumbers, I headed to the beach and left my mom in charge. Apparently my great grandmother used to do the same to my grandmother, her daughter-in-law, who lived next door. 

Papa snapped this one. I handed him my DSLR as my dad, grilling beside us, laughed. My papa took only one picture, and I think he did very well. 

I cut up the pepper and ate it in a salad that I shared with my small group. Honestly, the taste was nothing special. But I will try peppers again next year! 

August garden update

Okra blooms are so fleeting that I have been trying to capture one at just the right time all summer. I've seen buds and the next time I look, they're withered. I finally got one! 

This Better Boy plant has outgrown its cage, so I built an addition with a stick and some twine. 

 Cucumbers have taken over most of the garden bed and have produced more than any of my other plants. They've grown all over the air conditioning unit. They've attracted bees. If you like cucumbers, I will give you some! 

I've had a few bell peppers. This one keeps growing bigger and bigger, but I'm waiting for it to turn red. 

Occasionally, Dan gets a wild hair and picks some cucumbers. On this particular day, he ate three. 

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tomato and okra

My little tomato keeps growing! 

I was so excited to see a few tiny okra! I really did not know much about growing vegetables before starting my garden, and as they grow, I realize more and more how little I know. I seriously thought that at least some of these plants grew underground and therefore would be safe from deer. It turns out that carrots are the only root vegetable I planted, and there are only a few tiny sprouts as the others got choked out by weeds. Thank goodness my work schedule now allows me to pull weeds at 7 each morning! I love starting my day with breakfast, Bible study and prayer, and tending my garden (with Dan, of course).