I had a plan.  I really did.  But you know what happens with plans...something always gets in the way.  This time it was just life.  The day to day stuff.

So here I am, a day late and a dollar short sharing the meal plan for the week.  But this isn't really what I want to write about.  And since of yet nobody is reading this, I only have myself to please.

Scratch meal plans.  I make em, I change em, I totally ignore them sometimes.  Boring.

Much more exciting is what is happening with my jungle.  I have cucumbers.  Actual cucumbers on my spiraling  cucumber plant.

How cool is this ?!?!?   Cooler still is that I'm pretty sure these flowers are attracting a hummingbird!  I've see him 3 different times.  He doesn't seem to be able to get to the cucumber flowers though.  This morning I bought friend for Bonnie Belle.  (That's my geranium...don't remember if I introduced you before.)  The Mandeville is sure to attract the hummingbird.  He is yet unnamed.  I'll take suggestions.  I'll share a picture when I see him.

Another cool thing is that I found out that it is perfectly normal that my Brandywine tomato plant hasn't set fruit yet.  I am partial to the flavors of heirloom tomatoes.  My Purple Cherokee has dozens of fruit, but the Brandywine is big and healthy with gobs of flowers.  But no fruit.  I googled this, willing to go to great lengths to encourage fruit.  This variety doesn't set fruit for 80-100 days.  We are still in this window.

Brandywine--her fruit could be 2 pounds.  Each.   It is sweet and tastes like my childhood.

Purple Cherokee.  This was a new find for me several years ago.  

Plump fruit from red to purple in color.

That bring you up to speed on my jungle.

I will tell you about dinner tonight.  Josh took Friday off as we were having the carpets cleaned.  One of the things we did was go to Trader Joes where I bought the cilantro chicken mini wontons.  I have infused 2 qts of stock (some mine, some boxed) with some Asian flavors.  We will be having wonton soup for dinner with a side of Chinese Roasted Broccoli.

That's what's cooking in my kitchen.  How about yours?

happy cooking

First thing in the morning, before I look at my phone or make the coffee, I step out onto my deck to talk to my vegetable plants.  I think they like it.  Or maybe I want to think that they like . In any rate, I like it.  I check for flowers and fruit.  I come back in with that faint tomato perfume and sometimes my fingers are green from pinching suckers or pruning herbs.

It's not the only time I commune with them.  Usually, I water in the late afternoon/early evening.  Yesterday, I sat down in front of my Purple Cherokee tomato plant and thoroughly examined her.  She has had lots and lots of flowers for a little while now.  I was getting concerned that I wasn't seeing any fruit. Not worried anymore!

There is actually at least one other one, too.

My pepper plant was the first of my veggies to produce.  There are now 3 peppers.

That's the biggest one.  

You can see at least one more here.  There really are three, though.  There is also a sticky, white something on this plant.  Any idea what it is?  Thank goodness I have access to the webernet to find answers to my gardening queries.

My grape tomato plant is a trooper!  She has much fruit and more flowers!

My Roma and Brandywine plants have lots of flowers, but no fruit yet.  S'okay...flowers mean fruit.

The most interesting part of the jungle this year is my cucumbers!

Again, no flowers or fruit yet, but I am "training" them (there are 4 plants) to climb this "trellis" that my dad and I built. 

This is actually my second go at the cucumber plants.  Mom and Dad came at the beginning of May, before our frost free date.  As usual, they (Dad) planted my deck garden for me.  It was too early for the cukes...got too cold at nights and they died.

 

Another fun thing in my jungle is my herb garden.

A few years ago, my father-in-law built me a stair tread planter.  It is literally stair treads purchased at your local home improvement store.  We rotated it 90 degrees so that the "step" became the riser to better accommodate the planter boxes and make a smaller footprint on the deck.  This year, my dad made some repairs, stained, and replaced the planter boxes.   

This is the first of many "jungle" posts this year.  Stay tuned.

Today is Wednesday and DateNight is this evening.  That post will be on Friday, though there will be pictures on Instagram tonight.

This is what's growing in my garden.  How about yours?