Weather has put me behind the eight ball a little bit. It’s picking up now, but my cucumber, cherry tomatoes, beans, and basil are off to a late start. Of course, now we’re going from one extreme to another, with forecasted temperature in the mid-90’s for the remainder of the week.

One of the things I learned about planting beans from the master-Mel Bartholomew, is to soak them in water for 2-3 hours before putting them directly into the ground. They will begin to swell a bit and it speeds up the harvest time. I’ve usually grown pole beans but this year have gone to bush beans. I ran out of vertical space with 28 cherry tomato plants going.