Tales from the Veggie World

Mom is constantly harping about how much damage we can do if we aren't careful in the garden. Have you seen how big these zucchini plants are Mom? If we stop posting send someone in to check out the zucchini. It might have taken us all. Can you see how it is kind of reaching out towards me?

This is why we normally don't watch the Sci Fi channel with Mom and we stick to watching sports with Dad. Now it has led Bailey to an irrational fear of veggies. I like the shade this one is providing. If it gets a bit bigger, I can sit underneath the whole thing and get a nice break from the heat of the sun.

With blooms appearing on the zucchini plants, Mom is hopeful that she will have some fresh zucchini soon. She and Dog Dad use zucchini in quite a few different recipes. From the look of the plants, they should have a decent crop.

Mom and Dad were very excited to have fresh lettuce and spinach for their salads this weekend. Both are doing quite well this season. Katy did you see the zucchini creeping into the picture, making its presence known? I'm telling you the stuff is taking over. You’ve got to stop turning your back on it. Don’t you remember the The Celery Stalks at Midnight? Veggies can go bad and not in a smelly way either.

What has been most surprising this season is that we still have asparagus in July!!! This has always been a short spring crop. The parents aren't complaining, but they are shocked that they still are getting quite a healthy crop.

As for the rest of the garden, the tomatoes are starting to expand fully into their crates cages and flowers are just starting to appear. Katy has been walking the line on the peppers, much to Dog Dad's dismay. She thinks it keeps critters away. Dog Dad is convinced she's going to step on a plant and kill it. So far, she's done amazingly well at walking the rows.

Mom found out about an edible perennial presentation being offered at the local library this month and she and Dog Dad signed up. They love the asparagus and the chives and would love to learn what else would keep coming back every year without having to be replanted.

Veggie Update: The Fence

We reported last week that do to our vigilance there were lettuce casualties. We thought the worst was over, but we came this weekend to discover Dog Dad had forgiven, but not forgotten. He has created barriers to prevent us from entering the back gardens.

Look at that fence. That may look like a small fence, but that Dog Dad is smart. While I might squeeze through this hole without any blockage, jumping over it requires me to jump blindly into the bush. Not something I'm crazy about doing. They are clearly not designed for rabbit or squirrel prevention. Nowhere do you see anti-rabbit fencing, only Sheltie prevention. It is an outrage. Sure, we've killed more plants than all the critters together to date. You know they will do more damage in the end.

Just a note to our friends out in Blogville, our Google Dashboard reader has gone bonkers. From what we've read this is a fairly common bug that has yet to be addressed in Blogger. As of Monday, we could still click on our individual list of Blogs to get to your Blogs to read your articles, but we only get the person who updated lasted posted to our Dashboard. We are doing our best to keep up to date on what is happening in Blogville. Mom may have to look into another reader if this becomes a problem.

Shelties and Garden Safety

While reading Chunyo's Corner's blog entry yesterday, I started thinking about our gardens and our shelties. Bailey and Katy are part Hoover vacuum and it is important to be aware of which plants are toxic to them.

For my own reference, I am listing the link here so I can find and refer back to it again. The ASPCA has a list that categorizes plants as toxic and non-toxic for cats, dogs, and horses. While Bailey has never eaten any of our toxic plants, it is important that we are aware of the dangers, especially since Katy is more of a plant snack eater.

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