Weekend stuff

I got Adam to cut the lawn today and I put down mulch. I found black mulch at the Home Depot; but it was a cooler idea, I think, than it turned out in execution - it looks way too stark. TOO black. Maybe it will mellow out soon.

Here's the man and his grill:


We picked our first cucumbers and peas, and we have been arguing about whether the corn is ripe yet. I say it is, based on what I have read online, but Adam says no. Finally his curiosity got the better of him and he picked one ear which we are boiling now. It looks a bit small. I agree with his assessment now that a little longer on the stalk may give the ears better size.

I have like 2 dozen tomatoes on the vines, but none of them are getting red, and I think they are too crowded to get enough light so they never will.

Next year I will do things better. I will:

* plant fewer squash type plants of each variety, and stake them a lot earlier;
* plant more peas, of a green pea (not sweet pea) variety, and stake them earlier;
* give the tomatoes a lot more room - further away from the fence, and from each other;
* plant more corn, in stages as they recommend so that we have a longer harvest time;
* de-rock-ify the soil for the carrots, as the rocks make them split and bulb;
* mulch everything as soon as I plant it to keep the weeds at bay.