Growing On You: Cukes, cukes and more cukes

You know what will drive the most dedicated gardener crazy? What to do with it all when it’s all coming in. I don’t have a large vegetable garden. It’s a nice size. With the almost perfect rain we’ve had so far this growing season and the roots of the plants now feeding heavily on the compost I worked into the soil early last spring, I’m in a pickle. Well, not literally, but I’m all ready out of canning jars due to pickles. Now the tomatoes are ripening constantly, the bell peppers are getting huge, the sweet banana peppers are almost the size of bananas and jalapenos are turning red. Meanwhile the cucumbers keep coming and coming. Oh yeah, and coming! I planted two vines of cukes last year and they outgrew their roots, dried up and died after about a month of producing. Since this is only my second year of gardening in Tennessee, I planted five vines in two mounds just in case last years results were normal around here. Now I can’t keep up with them! It’s been a challenge keeping the growth out of the row of bush beans and for a while I was concerned about the well being of the neighbor’s dog as the chain link fence offered little to slow the reach of these plants. My neighbors sure appreciate my efforts and have for quite a few weeks now. I believe my wife’s co-workers, as well as mine, do also as they still aren’t ducking behind a corner when they see us coming with loaded shopping bags in our hands. But of course I’m new around here. I guess it could be worse. When I was putting in my garden this year I thought about planting more.