The haul so far: Meager at best

As we sense the nights cooling - even here in steamy Kansas - I begin to wonder if I'll end up with anything significant from the garden. It's been a weird year. Between hailstorms, tornadoes, and torrential rain, watering has rarely been necessary, but the deluges haven't helped as much as they've hurt, perhaps.

Some things have grown well and produced aplenty, e.g.- basil, thyme, sunflowers, and the ever-loving arugula monster twins. Other crops have been abysmal failures, and I don't have good answers since I've had good luck with the same seed or variety in previous years. Here's a list of the failures, with some speculation on what went wrong:

• Tomatoes: haven't harvested one yet; late planting, weak seedlings
• Eggplant: only two so far; late planting
• Corn: tough; who knows?
• Blauhilde beans: got about two pounds; planted way too many in the space
• Armenian cucumbers: none yet; lots of male flowers, very few females
• Amish gourds: ditto

I'd be curious if anyone has had similar experiences in this region, or might have an inkling about what might be wrong.

Not all is lost, the eggplant are producing beautiful fruit, and there are many in the works. Wish the tomato were mine. It's just a prop, grown by our CSA farmer, who thankfully is a more diligent gardener than I.

Oh, and this manly shot is for fellow Gardenaut Joshua. He was right. (See the comments to this post.) If you're stuck with excess arugula, stick it in a slice of pizza and enjoy. It's delicious.

Seeking good arugula recipes!

Does anyone have suggestions for how to consume pound upon pound of arugula? Earlier this season, I wrote about the two arugula plants that survived the Kansas winter. Not only did they survive, they have decided, in this wet and productive year, to go absolutely insane. Behold the insanity:

I've had hearty arugula before, but this is so much more than anything I've ever seen. I've harvested literally pounds of arugula, giving it to anyone who will take it, and have even taken to using it as thick garnish beds, e.g.- plates of deviled eggs and have even mulched other plants with it on the theory that no sensible bug go nears the stuff.

Unlike what you might expect from something that wintered over and is growing in the intense Kansas summer heat, the leaves are delicious and not at all bitter. The plants have gotten a few hair cuts, where a pair of kitchen shears literally shape it like a topiary, partly to get them off their neighbors, and partly to cut of bolting shoots.

So, please share your favorite arugula use with me!