Digging carrots at 6:30 A.M.

Any sort of physical activity needs to be done early, so while Cliff was still asleep, I went to the garden. 

 A lot of the carrots are tiny, but most of them are big enough to use.  I don't think I ever watered these.  It's amazing they grew at all.  

There are always a couple of oddballs in any group.  

 Because there was an extended dry period, then an inch of rain, the new potatoes started thinking they were seed potatoes and grew sprouts.  This is not a good thing.

I don't know if any of them will be worth keeping.  I had already dug my early potatoes before that rain, so they are fine.  

 The tomatoes are finally getting with the program.  We had our first BLT last night.   

I wish I had paid attention when I bought tomato plants and gotten something like Early Girl.  If these plants were some variety that didn't make such HUGE tomatoes, I'd have been canning tomatoes by now.  You can see there's blight, but I still have high hopes that I will get some tomatoes canned.  I'm sure that I'd have less problems with blight if I would prune my tomatoes instead of crowding them into cages.     

 The zucchini plant that died is still trying to rise from the dead.  

 The younger plant next to it is doing fine.  

I used all my early beets, and planted these later so Cliff's sister could can some pickled beets.  I think they are going to be a gigantic failure, though, because while they seem to be growing lovely big tops, the roots are not growing.  However, according to the University of Missouri vegetable planting guide, beets can be planted for a fall crop around August 1.  I intend to try again at that time.