Community Garden: First Harvest

I've been doing a pretty good job of keeping our plots at the Community Garden weeded and watered. After a quick and yummy meal at the Dairy Bar, we decided to swing by and do some early watering since it hasn't rained since before the weekend and temperatures soared to 95 degrees today.

This is what we found:

We only planted two zucchini and four cucumber plants so our plots aren't crazy big, but the other plots boasted plants that dwarfed our beds. I was pretty proud of our green thumbs, though. (ETA: In total, we planted tomato, eggplant, basil, cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers -- but only the zucchini and cucumber plants get big and bushy. So our beds look sparse in comparison to those who planted lots of zucchini and cucumber. Also, others planted bush beans, which we decided against.)

And lo and behold - we harvested two zucchini (one that was way too big), four cucumbers, and a ton of basil. I'm planning to make pesto for dinner tomorrow night with the basil and maybe roast the zucchini to have as a side. Javi and Bella both love cucumbers, so I know those will go fast.

Our peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant are just starting to flower and show tiny fruit buds, so we expect to harvest some of those by next week. I can't wait to pick my own cherry tomatoes instead of paying $3 for them at the store.

However, the trip wasn't all fun and games. I was on the lookout for pests ... and I found a nasty one. The stink bug.

Yuck! I've been looking online for organic methods of running them off. Apparently, nasturtiums and sunflowers act as trap crops and lure the bugs away from vegetables, but I don't know where to find them. I've decided to harvest my veggies as quickly as I can to keep the bugs from eating them.

Anyone know of organic ways to get rid of stink bugs? I've not seen any tomato hornworms yet, but I know they're coming next. Ah, the joys of nature!