A couple of years ago, we assembled a raised-bed garden in the back yard, and we've been planting in it with varying levels of commitment year-to-year.  Last year, we planted a bunch of interesting items, but most of our crop was eaten by deer.  Hopefully we won't have the same problem this year.

We stopped by Pickering Valley Feed and Farm Store to select our plants.  They tend to have a better selection and variety of vegetables than you can usually find  at big stores like Lowes.  Our selection of veggies included corn, string beans, broccoli, tomatoes, and green bell peppers.

We didn't get cucumbers this year.  I'm not sure why; maybe last year's weird cucumbers were a bit of a turn-off.  We also didn't get any melons, because in years past they never got enough water (my guess), and never grew beyond a couple of inches in diameter.

Our cool pick of the season this year is a peanut bush!  Peanuts grow under ground, so it's hard to see if they're creating fruit.  But they're supposed to grow all summer and into the fall.  When the first frost comes, you pull the whole plant out of the ground, and the peanuts are in the roots!  You hang the plant up to let the peanuts dry, and then you can eat them.  I'm excited about the peanut plant, because it's unique and reminds me of planting/harvesting the peanut plants at the bay when I was a kid.

We also got a few plants for my office planter.  There are three basil and four jalapeno plants.  I think I've given up on growing the exotic peppers for now.  The jalapenos should be enough.  I planted them all yesterday and re-filled the planter with water, which it was desperately in need of.  The special soil in the planter is very water-absorbent so that you can leave plants in it un-watered for a while and the plants will survive.  I will be using the new watering can (which has this very cool detachable head) that Abby got me for Christmas to regularly water the plants, which was the problem last year -- the watering can leaked like a sieve and couldn't be used.

Also to be noted is that the hops are once again growing in the back yard.  I fed them some plant food last night just before the rain, and this morning they are about six inches taller than they were yesterday.  These things grow fast!  Hopefully this year we'll see some healthy vines and some cones, which didn't appear at all last year.  I'll have to keep watering them to make sure they stay healthy, which I think was last year's issue.