A Waste-Not-Want-Not-Day

Here's the beauty of planning ahead . . . 

I had a vague notion that you shouldn't allow the straw to get wet. Well, it wasn't longer than a rainstorm for me to figure out it's because straw quickly turns moldy. 

My two sodden bales were very heavy to lift, stinky, and would be difficult to get to the dump. Then I realized, I should use them to start next Spring's bed. The 90-degree day (feels like 105) would kill the growing fungus and my next bed would be underway. 

I knew exactly where to spread it, due to my master plan:

As a bonus, I used the blue string tying the bales together to make more netting for my green beans. 

Then I discovered some baby potatoes had gone to seed:

So I planted them as seed potatoes!

Here's what's starting to grow in the garden: 

Huckleberries 

Here are two teeny tiny baby butternut squashes growing on the same vine: (Note the size of the clover in the background to get size perspective.) 

Here's my first pumpkin:

 Here's what cucumbers look like growing (and a picture of my bed). Since I'm using a tarp, it seemed easier to allow them to trail along the ground rather than build a trellis. 

This future pickle is so spiny! I had no idea. 

Here's what gooseberry flowers look like: