Gardening in July

Gardening 101, that is a class that I need to take.  I didn't pay close enough attention to my garden this past week and I had to throw away a whole bowl full of peas.  I was so bummed that we couldn't eat them.  They were huge and bitter.  Even my pea loving son spit them out.  Oh well, live and learn!! It has been really hot this July and I should have checked on them about a week ago.  Peas like the heat about as much as I do, which is not at all!!  I really don't know what I am doing :)

Here are my peas and they are ready to be done for the summer.  My kids picked a bunch of them and I tried to eat them, really really tried, but they were yucky!  

 See that big juicy pea, don't let it fool you, he's a bitter little guy.  Live and learn and I now know to keep watch on peas, they get ripe fast!  We did eat quite a few before we hit triple digits, so they all didn't go to waste, but I know for next year when to pick them all.

I also learned (quite the lesson) to keep up on the weeds. I can't believe how big they got in the last week and a half.  Holy cow, they were doing better than the plants!  I cleared those out and hopefully the plants will get more water and nutrients now.   Gardening has such a learning curve and just when it seems to be going smoothly there are bugs, or weeds, or watering issues.  But it is worth it!  I am saving money on our produce bill and also learning how to be self-reliant.