Minding the Patch: The Unofficial End of Summer

It's been a while since I'm dispatched from the patch, so I thought I'd give an update. There will be more pictures than text this time; I hope you don't mind!

I can't believe it's already past Labor Day. Luckily, I don't think Mother Nature is aware of what the calendar says--I'd really like a lot more growing time. There are still plenty of blossoms on the cucumber and tomato plants, and I'm very curious what (if anything) the okra plants will do. They just keep making leaves and more leaves. Then they're snacked on by deer, and then they replace the stolen leaves with more leaves. At some point, the internet said, they'd flower and start making okra so that I could have gumbo all winter long. Well, I have seen no signs of flowering and I want gumbo!

I've been trying to stay on top of the squash bugs hell bent on destroying the cucumber plants. In a couple instances, the little jerks have succeeded. (They also enjoy the okra, as do aphids, as I believe I've lamented before). All of the marigolds are quite dead at this point (quite a mystery to me, frankly, as they thrive in all other patches, even the most neglected, it seems). The tomatoes are like moody teenagers: Just when I think we aren't simpatico, they try to please me.

The biggest surprise of late is that the lettuce I had long given up on is starting to pop out of the ground. (Check out my pictures.) I'm trying not to think of it as just another pest magnet. 

So, gentle readers, how are your gardens? Have they recovered from the drought? Have you had the same pest problems I have? Have you tried my or recipe? What did you think? Have you been to the Frankfort Township ? If yes, what did you bring? What else is on your mind? Tell us in the comments!