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First it was the untimely weather.  Next came the devilish earwigs.  Then it was the sneaky slugs.  This week I went out to the garden and found this:

SNAILS!  Look at those slimy destroyers! They wrapped all the way around the pot and were hiding on 2 other pots.  After I woke up from the shock, I did what any self-respecting, backyard gardener would do…  I grabbed the salt.  And I sprinkled it by the handful all around my pots.  And I showered it over the snails that were sticking to the pots.  And I had flashbacks of Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in African Queen when they killed the leeches…

…anyway… with all that salted mess I made this (this is the point where you squeamish folks should look away.  If you revel in the death of garden pests who are attempting to eat your hard-earned crops, you will find this as satisfying as I did):

That’s right, I made Snail Lattes.  Those slimy fiends didn’t know what hit them as they foamed and frothed from the salt.  They fell to the ground and my little green tomatoes cheered.  I’m not crazy, really.  I just hate to see the snails prevail.  Hey, they didn’t plant those eggplants!  They didn’t go out every evening and water the basil!  They didn’t fertilize and prune!  They don’t get to eat what they didn’t work for!  I have to admit, it is satisfying to walk out to the garden and now see the graveyard of snail shells.

As for the rest of the garden…

It’s hard to believe that just barely 2 weeks ago this plant was down to about 3 leaves and I was worried I would have to toss it and buy all new plants.  As soon as the sun came out it exploded.  I could almost see it growing, it filled out so fast.  Making pesto this week.

I was so enthralled with the blooms on this plant I didn’t realize there was a bell pepper already growing on it!  It’s coming right along, hopefully the gophers won’t steal it before I get to pick it.

I am so excited about my cherry tomatoes, they are going to be ripe soon.  They are the reason I planted my garden this year.  My tummy is growling just talking about it.

I also planted Roma tomatoes this year and I find their shape interesting.  I think there are about 4 tomatoes on the plant right now but plenty of blooms so I expect there to be several Romas soon.

Remember the barrel of lettuce I picked last weekend?  It’s already growing back!  Talk about a thrifty crop; I only planted about 1/4 (if that) of the seed packet and I have more loose leaf lettuce than I know what to do with.

I don’t see any little eggplants yet but the plant continues to bloom.  There will be a bumper crop shortly.

This green onion plant has become a forest.  Every time I brush past it to water the other plants I smell like green onions.

This plant was a surprise when I got home from the nursery. I don’t know how it ended up in my cart and I’m not completely sure what it is.  It is some sort of mild pepper, it will be interesting to find out what it tastes like.  Maybe I can throw it in a salad or quesadilla.

Speaking of surprises… I was tending the pole beans and found these peaking out from the dirt:  toadstools!  Where on earth did they come from??  What do they want??  Are they trying to ruin my beans??  I pulled them up and left them out to die in the hot sun.  Hopefully they don’t come back.

Things are really picking up in my little garden.  It makes me hungry to think of all the yummy, healthy  foods I’ll be eating soon!