This year in gardening

Well the garden is out and the cover crop is in place and starting to come up. It wasn't a terrible year, but certainly not the best. We had some screwy weather this summer. In total I think we had less than 4 days above 90 degrees, which is unusual. On top of that we had an above average amount of rain. I'm assuming that's why the tomatoes didn't do as well as last year. The corn was a dissappointment. It grew fine, but the ears weren't as big as advertised. Next year I will not be planting corn. It takes up too much space for too little reward in my opinion. On the up side the cucumbers were outstanding. I canned approximately 50 quarts of pickles. I did get enough tomatoes to make 6 pints of chili base and and about 12 pints of salsa. The green beans did well, but I was disappointed in the variety, just didn't have a good taste.

I did get a new toy about a month ago. A new John Deere 2305 with a front end loader and 54" mid-mount mower deck. I love it. Probably more tractor than I actually need, but who cares it's just plain fun.