When to Yank?

Almost too cute to eat

The thing that always strikes me about the weekend is that, with kids, it is as busy or busier than a weekday. However, at least my kids are old enough so that they can run free out in the backyard while I am fretting about the garden, a.k.a. watering and weeding. I can't do any real work, like planting, with their help. Well, I mean, I do it with their help, and then I go out later and do it again. Anyway, so we grabbed some time this morning on one of the hottest days of the year to go out back and fret, and/or poke your sister with a stick, and/or take your brother's tub of tomatoes that mommy said not to mess around with (depending on your age and weight class).

My main fret-tage currently concerns when to yank my summer/fall harvesting plants. I get - literally - a handful of green beans every couple days at this point. Worth keeping the plants? A few tomatoes are ripe, with a few more still green on the plant preventing me from pulling it. Am I a sucker? Am I letting these overripe plants suck the nutrients out of the soil and I'll never ever get it back? Remember - I'm the "undergardener", not the head gardener. I don't have a clue what I'm doing.

However, on the plus side - and the awesome thing about gardening is there is always a little bit of a plus side - my pea shoots are up, cilantro is abundant, and I got one cute lil' strawberry today, just about the size of my thumbnail. And picked up some free compost from the city recycling center. Fall planting is just around the corner, as soon as I get rid of these summer plants...