peas please

Pea season has officialy come to a close in the garden. Yesterday I picked off all the remaining pods, and then pulled the vines out and sent them on a one way trip to the compost pile.

This was the first year that I planted a 'shelling' pea as opposed to the 'sugar snap' or 'snow' varieties, and I have to say I was really pleased. It was easy to enjoy them on the fly, as they were quite tasty eaten directly from the pod while working in the garden.

Also, cooked in some boiling water, and served with a bit of butter and salt they were a real treat. After I shelled and washed this last bunch I put them in a ziplock bag and stuck them in the freezer to save for some future meal. I am thinking of trying this pea pesto...

Growth

After another short trip away from home, and an extended absence from the blog, there have been many changes in the June garden. The squash, zucchini, and pumpkin plants in particular seemed to grow to about 10 times their previous size while I was gone.

The lettuce continues to be abundant, and the peas are now in their prime as the teepees are literally dripping with fat, ripe pods. And most exciting of all the tomatoes continue to develop beautifully with numerous blossoms and immature fruits promising a glut of tomatoes in our future.

The San Marzano, and Amish Paste tomatoes have all gotten up to about 4 ft tall and are starting to set fruit.

Tomato blossoms with lettuce in the background.

Immature Sungold tomatoes. These will probably be the first ripe ones this year.

Amish Paste tomatoes.

These Green Arrow Peas are a traditional english shelling variety.

They can be shelled and cooked for dinner, but so far they've mostly been eaten by being popped directly from pod to mouth.

A sea of lettuce varieties.

Costata Romanesco zucchini.

A genuine pumpkin patch.

Butternut squash, with sunfowers poking through.

The melons continue to sprawl lazily on their black plastic. Quite a few blossoms have already appeared.

Charentais melon blossom.

A pot of marigolds growing on the patio.

Basil growing in an old coffee can.

Assorted patio herbs, flowers and a Sungold tomato.