Tomatoes, Peppers, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, onions. cauliflower, broccoli, as well as miscellaneous herbs—-all were on the dinner or lunch table this week at the Opperman household. It has been a good couple weeks in the Opperman garden. Unfortunately lettuce ran out a couple weeks ago, so now it is off to the store to get that for the first bacon, lettuce tomato sandwich of the season.

In the picture, you can see my harvest of a few of the things from yesterday morning. Cherry tomatoes and smaller ones have been ripening for a few weeks. These are the first large tomatoes. Alan Raymond gave me a ‘Snakebite’ plant at the March garden club meeting. I took it home and planted it the next morning. The four ripest ones are from that plant. An Early Girl is the other less ripe one between the squash and the cucumber. So, thank you Alan!

Normally I plant seeds of cucumbers and squash and have done that again this year. However, in Febru

ary the Houston Garden Center had their left over veggies from last fall on sale for $1.25. The yellow crookneck and the cucumber (no name on it) took

Oak Forest Garden Roundup

off and have been producing for a few weeks. Nice to get an early start!

In the stock market, there is a saying: “Sell in May and go away”. That is sort of appropriate for the veggie garden, too. Harvest in May (and maybe June) and then go away. Who wants to spend much time in the garden in July and August?

What you do have to do in the heat of the summer is continue to “cook” your compost. Too many wannabe composters rake up the leaves and pine needles during the fall and winter and stuff them into their compost heap. The proper ratio for good compost is two parts nitrogen (green stuff) to one part of carbon (brown stuff). So, during the summer when green stuff is readily available, mix it in with that mat of brown stuff in your compost. Rain, air, and the micro or macro organisms will do the rest.

If you still want to plant something this summer, try to find some pepper plants or eggplant. You, too, can still seed melons and okra. Sweet potato slips may still be available and they do love the hot summer if you keep them watered. If you are not using your veggie beds, cover them with mowed grass or mulched leaves to keep the weeds under control.

Speaking of weeds, the temptation always is to reach for the Roundup or some other product that has Atrazine in it. Don’t do it! Where there is smoke there is likely fire. There is lots of smoke around that chemical. Even so, it is still highly advertised and tons of it are in every big box store and even garden centers that should know better. Save the planet, your health and the health of your kids and grandkids. Just say no!

Hope you are staying healthy and safe. Maybe we can’t control CV 19, but we can have some control in our gardens. Happy summer!