What’s been your best drying method. My sage is huge and I tried drying a large bundle once, but it went gray and ugly 
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I have had good luck with thyme, summer savory, and oregano. I have tied them up and hung them in a storage room to dry. It took some time (4-5 months?) I pulled off the leaves and put them in an electric spice grinder. This year I am trying a dehydrator. My H (who adores kitchen gadgets) got it on sale at the local health food store!
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Could you do like a chimichurri sauce out of it???
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Can those herbs be chopped and frozen in ice cube trays like some other herbs?
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Our tomatoes, cucumbers, hot peppers, basil and parsley are producing really well this summer. Our eggplant and zucchini are not producing much (lots of blossoms but little fruit) and our butternut squash is a dud (not enough sun where it is).
I think I’m most excited about this new bed in the corner where we used to have a vine-encased, long-abandoned play set. We spent last summer and fall cleaning it up and planting and were rewarded with a serene view from the back deck. Not pictured off to the left, canna lillies. I’m in love with the “fish out of water” stakes I found online.
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Pretty!!!
Love your photo from yard!
I have harvested a few tomatoes and have a lot of green tomatoes brewing. I have 2 pepper plants, and tonight I harvest the first pepper. It appears it may be our only pepper, but hey at least it was really good! The zucchini and squash are going gangbusters. I now wish I had taken some to church on Sunday to add to our “giving garden” donation to the local food pantry.
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Harvested our first Armenian cukes, a few eggplants, and a decent handful of cherry tomatoes. My pepper plants are finally producing small peppers. Should be able to harvest some soon! This is all from my deck garden.
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My serrano and spice peppers are turning red (finally), so I will be harvesting them soon. The squirrels – or something – have been at my eggplant fruit, so getting a decent harvest on that may be problematic.
Most of my tomato plants have hit the wall, and I am starting to pull out the exhausted plants – although the Mortgage Lifters are still putting out a good number of (smaller) tomatoes, so I am keeping them in the ground. All of the smaller and misshapen ripe tomatoes that I have harvested (and there are lots at this point in the summer) have been used to make tomato sauce.
I have started planting field peas in the areas of the garden where I have already taken out plants, and hope to get some mature pods by the time of the first hard frost this Fall.
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I’m starting to think about some fall crops too. I have a bare spot in my raised bed where my onions were. Need to pull the potatoes this week. I did plant some carrots along the edge a few weeks ago and they are SLOWLY growing some green tops.
I’ve never seen anyone do a fall crop of peas in our community garden! Hmmm. I’d also like to plant some lettuce type greens.
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The field peas (a/k/a cow peas) are actually a type of bean, not like a sugar snap pea; although as the temperature cools down, you probably could put in a Fall crop of green peas (especially the ones that mature in about 60 days). The field peas are partly a soil restorative, fixing nitrogen in the soil as any good legume will do; but if I can get some dried field peas out of them, then all the better – I usually cook them with rice a la Hoppin’ John, or mash them up and mix them with cooked rice and/or bread crumbs to make patties/burgers.
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How are your gardens doing? I’m assuming that most of us who planted zucchini are getting a good harvest around now.
This year (only my 2nd year as veggie gardener, not very experienced) my yellow squash is a bit odd. Per the tag they are Crookedneck Heirloom squash. The first one I picked had subtle bumpy skin. It worried my husband, but it cooked up fine (unpeeled) when steamed or roasted. I ignored others on the vine, hoping they would get bigger. Oops. The now are REALLY bumpy and so rough I cannot even cut with a knife. (No crises - plenty of other coming, plus green zuc and yellow zuc). But it makes for a fun photo
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No kidding! 
Have been eating zucchini dishes regularly. Next year, I am planning just 2 instead of the 4 plants I have now!
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Save them for fall decorations! 
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I’ve only known crooked neck squash as decorative. A search says you can eat it but I wonder if it’s not as readily eaten as other squashes?
Currently eating a bacon, kale, tomato, banana pepper, cheddar sandwich with all the vegetables from my garden! Tomatoes are just ROLLING in!
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I actually picked the variety of yellow squash because only variety left. At the first place, I accidentally purchased 2 yellow zuc (which yikes, does mean we have FOUR zucchini plants). Went another place a few days later in late May there were slim pickings ( We were on a road trip May 1 - May 23).
Yep per google - " Crookneck squashes also have edible skin , though you may want to peel if it’s too tough. How to cook: Both yellow summer and crookneck squashes are excellent baked, roasted, grilled, or included fresh in salads. They’re also delicious grated into soups, breads, and pancake" I think they will be ok if I go back to picking then small/young. Probably I won’t give them away.
@BunsenBurner - Yes, maybe I will keep for decorative fall conversation pieces. They do look very gourd-like.
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We are getting lots and lots of tomatoes, especially cherry tomatoes. Love the fresh taste of these! That’s about the only thing growing now in our garden - the bunnies got to the pepper and cucumber plants even before they had a chance to grow. We planted cilantro as well - but what’s growing there now doesn’t resemble the cilantro we know at all. Perhaps a different breed from the cilantro family?
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Has your cilantro gone to seed? My experience with cilantro is that it goes to seed FAST. Becomes not the usual leaves and sometimes gets the little teeny ball seeds on top.
I try and start a new crop of cilantro every few weeks in the summer to keep a supply available.
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@abasket - didn’t know about that. Will check when I get outside today. But yes, the leaves do not look like the cilantro leaves I know.
