Update for everybody

First, thanks to everyone. The garden is almost full - almost twice the number of gardeners this year - and everything looks fantastic.

We need to knock the manure pile down soon - probably on Saturday morning before Fifer's Day. I'm aiming to be over there to do the work around noon. If we can get a few people to help, we can have it done in under an hour.

There's also the option of adding a community corn plot in one of the few empty spots. If I can get a show of hands from people interested, we'll get the seed and sort our row assignments. We've done this in the past to great success. The advantage: Everyone gets corn and by combining the rows, we guarantee pollination. So wave your hands - or email - and we'll get started.

Eggs underneath the leaf.

These guys. We hate these guys.

They're back: The cucumber beetles have made their annual appearance. These little nasties are about a centimeter long and black and yellow striped. Because we are and organic garden, we can't nuke the hive from orbit, resorting instead to subtler methods. The best way is to get over and hand pick the beetles and squish them. It's oddly satisfying. Then check over the leaf for eggs. If you find them, scrape them into a jar full of dish washing detergent and water. If you knock them on the ground, they hatch and you haven't solved anything. Then spray the plant with Neem oil. This will need to be done several times to ensure we have an impact.

The pump works. Not particularly well, yet, but we're trying to make easier. We'll put some bottles over this week for priming water, although that hasn't been needed yet.

If you notice deer incursion, let me know ASAP, so we can address it before it becomes a real issue.

Finally, it's not July yet, but now's a good time to start thinking ahead to the AG Fair in September. Enter your best and brightest for ribbons and bragging rights. Abby Floyd has won the largest sunflower contest twice for plants over 12 feet tall. That's like four of her. [See, bragging rights]. We'll post a link to the sign up when it becomes available.