Beat this!

From the raised bed come Beets. A big fat fist-full! Farmer Gloria explains how she did it. No problem eating these... they went from plucked to pan to plate in under 4 hours. grin. They were very sweet. (She told me the variety... Detroit something. We thought the multi-colored gourmet ones from the double-dug bed were scary. Think they are still moldering at the back of the fridge.)

G chopped and sauteed the greens with homegrown garlic & a store-bought onion. We weren't that wild about them. Tender, but a bit soapy and slightly bitter. Might be okay frozen, then added to a winter soup.

Not pictured, but we also managed to hang a pull-down shade over the sliding glass doors. And while we are standing in this part of the yard, the hollyhocks are fabulous. The chaste tree is blooming wildly. We're pretty sure that the zinnias we added during the hot spell are all going to make it. And finally, the tomatoes against the west wall are having mixed luck. Three are fine--the fourth looks wilted all the time. ?!