Veggie Garden Adventures

We have warned all of you of the dangers of an aggressive veggie garden. The zucchini have been the most dangerous aggressors this year. We fought them back for a bit, until Dog Dad forbid us to attack them anymore. Now the green peppers are under assault. First the peppers and then the world, just remember you were warned. Sure, you say it can never happen. That is what the peppers thought, too. Sure, they thought, what's so bad about having zucchini next door. Now they are taking over the whole raised bed. They've already grabbed us a few times.

This giant is ready for the kitchen. Despite its hostile nature, Mom and Dad have been enjoying quite a few Zucchini dishes. They've even been able to share with neighbors.

Look at this brave pepper trying to grow despite the ongoing plant hostilities.

The tomatoes are still in their crates cages, but they are trying to break out.

Mom was pleased to see some are ripe and ready to eat.

Mom has a weeding planned as even the nasty Zucchini can get killed off when the weeds take over.

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.

News from the Veggie Gardens

Welcome to our Tuesday Veggie Garden tour. There is lots going on in the Veggie World. Mom is amazed we are still getting fresh asparagus. Normally it is a spring perennial for us. It comes up shortly after the snow melts and starts to turn into ferns just as it warms up in May. However, here we are in June and Dog Dad is still finding new stalks sprouting. The parents are thrilled, as they love grilled asparagus.

So far, the tomatoes have been loving this wet rainy spring. We were afraid we might have plant rot, but so far there seems to have been enough dry days in between the wet ones that the plants are holding on and thriving.

Mom was sick over the weekend so she hadn't gone out to check on the veggie's progress. She was amazed at how big the zucchini plants had grown. Let me tell you guys in a month, you lose a ball in there and it will be fall before you see it again. What the zucchini takes it keeps.

Next, we have Katy's gardening tip of the week. The parents really don't mean do whatever is necessary to keep the garden's safe. We take our critter patrols seriously. However, Dog Dad made it very clear after I killed a lettuce, OK a couple of lettuce plants this weekend in pursuit of a squirrel that it wasn't OK to kill a plant while protecting it. I am not allowed to jump in the gardens even in hot pursuit of a critter. So, let that be a lesson to all of you eager gardeners doing your best to protect the produce. If you kill it while trying to protect it, they won't thank you. They won’t see the heroic effort you made in chasing off the varmint. All they will notice are the dead plants you killed while trying to defend them.

Keeping Up With Mom's Veggie Garden

We went out to check on Mom's Veggie gardens yesterday. The weather has been odd, wet to the point of being almost tropical to really hot and dry this weekend.

The tomatoes have grown past the first level of their crates cages and seem to be liking this strange weather. They are at the highest point of all the three veggie gardens so they get the best drainage when the rains come fast and hard. This might be why the rain hasn't been as much of an issue for them, although heavy rains have caused the plants here to rot in the past. Mom isn't complaining.

So far, the middle garden is also thriving. The peppers and zucchinis are having a good summer so far. Mom is hopeful about the peppers. They've had a rough few years. She is hoping the new methods Dog Dad tried are going to bring them around.

The back gardens are having the most challenges. This is the lowest point in the yard and also the darkest. With the heavy rains and thus fewer bright shiny days the plants back here are not having as good a time. Dog Dad noticed a couple of lettuce plants had died over the weekend. However, the zucchini seem to be thriving despite the challenges.

Mom thought she had an infestation of weeds growing in the back garden. Turns out the trees sneezed and dropped all their pollen on our gardens. Who knew trees needed tissues.

We Warned You about the Evils of Veggie Gardens

Mom and Dad keep talking about their veggie gardens. Fellow bloggers keep blogging about their veggie gardens and nobody discusses that they infringe on our play space and are just too tempting to resist.

Last week Katy and I were playing and just "happened" to wander into the back veggie gardens. No veggies were killed in our wanderings, although I must admit I was not paying much attention. I told Katy we might be able to get out of it by making Mom prove they were our paw prints, but Mom saw one small and one larger size dog prints and was not willing to provide us with legal counsel. Instead, Dad built a small enclosure so now we cannot get near the back corner. This is the best place to track squirrels and now it is off limits for the growing season.

Therefore, my fellow dogs beware of these veggies. Oh, they say they are harmless. They even will tell you how good they are for our humans. However, the first sign of a dog print and you will learn of the evil veggie plot to take over your territory. When I get some photographs I will demonstrate the encroachment.