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Good Eatin’

Harvested another frickin’ pound of carrots today (Yaya and Oxheart), and our first Crystal Apple cucumber:
 

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For those of you who haven’t grown cucumbers before, here’s the A#1KingofNewYork Rule of Thumb:

Don’t let them get huge.

Because if you do then all the flavor is just gone.  This particular variety can get to baseball size, so we went ahead and harvested it today at slightly-less-than baseball size from the insane thicket that has become my cucumber box:
 

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Seriously, that’s a six foot tall fence behind the box, and the plants have nearly topped it.

I didn’t expect much flavor since this is a pale-skinned cuke, but I was very pleasantly surprised:
 

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It was fragrant as hell, and quite tasty, with and without salt.  Yes, I’m a cuke salter….I also salt my tomatoes and my watermelon.  I’M FROM THE SOUTH.

Anyway, the flavor was great, the texture was nice and crisp, and there’s no need to peel it at all, it has a very fine skin.  This is going to make wonderful salads and some excellent pickles (slices are about 3 inches in diameter).

Other sources of excitement in the garden today are the soybean bushes, which at about 8 inches tall are fairly bursting with pods:
 

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The corn, which is about chest-high:

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The paprika peppers:
 

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The Jacob’s Cattle beans are blooming:
 

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And the Black Cherry tomatoes should be changing color any day now:
 

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I said, “ANY DAY NOW!!!!”  *looks impatiently at watch*