First time doing lima beans and it seems they are pretty prolific even with our dry weather. Last night I spent 1 hour shelling them and only got through half. This is just from two short rows and more to pick. (And another two short rows planted later, yet to go.)
I’ll be gone all next week, but my mom said if they go dry, she’ll take them that way. Learned something new.
what is the future of all the cucumbers? Do you have something in particular you like to do with them??
Yes! If they weren’t so cute… two families are apparently roaming the area, and the youngsters are probably the ones causing all the mischief. Time to beef up our defenses!
No idea! I am planning a mediterranean greek salad (cherry tomatoes, cukes and basil from the garden seem to call for it!) and an indian lentil salad with the cukes. H was suggesting tahini…
This weekend my daughter made cucumber juice with an overabundance of cucumbers - she made a cocktail with it and was also going to freeze it and use it in smoothies!
Nice figs!!
I’ve got lots of cherry tomatoes and I’ve made this pasta with those tomatoes three times in the last two weeks (I’ve got lots of family visiting.) Everyone loves it. One night I had the last of my spinach so I added it and that was great too.
I’ve made this - VERY good!
Eggplant apparently does well on decks. Three varieties out of four I planted have produced first crops, and the fourth one is not far behind. 
And another Armenian cuke!
I love the long skinny eggplant!
I am growing some eggplants in my garden for the first time, and I have a somewhat stupid question: How do you determine when they are ripe/ready to be picked – Softness of the fruit? Color? Size? Other? (I have a Black Beauty variety and one of the plants has a large-ish fruit on it, but I don’t know whether I should pick it now or wait until it gets a little larger.)
I usually go with the size. Eggplant can get too cardboard-like and too seedy if it overripens. I have some idea of how big is too big for any given variety and pick them just before they get too large. If eggplants begin turning yellowish or green, it is a good sign they will be inedible.
Gosh my eggplant plant is not doing much at all.
It’s been a brutal July and August so far here in AZ. Everything green is struggling. Even the cacti have had enough of it! 
Had to trim some bamboo this evening. It’s looking lousy and crispy and I’d forgotten to fertilize it in awhile. Gonna do more bamboo trimming early tomorrow morning before it gets super hot. Looking forward to September when it’ll dip below 105 and we can all breathe a sigh of relief.
Gary the Gopher has been busy in my front yard. He’s taken out 2 plants. Fine one day and then all of a sudden, dead. And he’s now working on 2 more! 
Thank you for the advice! I’ll pull it off, and see how it grills up.
Deck tomato garden is beginning to ramp up production! I need to save some seeds of this variety. Perfect heart-shaped fruit. 
Love the shape and the coloring - I can taste it!!! 
