Timing is everything

Plants are so finicky. And with being at work after hours so much lately, I've missed a few of their cues. The plum tree dropped all its leaves about a month ago, then after I've watered it like crazy it's rebounding with new leaves budding. And then there's the plants like zucchini that grow huge fruit if you ignore them. But the ones that give me the most trouble are those that ripen then fade into grossness if you don't time the harvest right. A few way too fibrous beets did that to me earlier this year, and the edamame partially did it today. The pods ripened, then the whole plant got brown from the bottom up. After seeing one bite the dust, I pulled the other two. They tasted great but the yield was super low. There are some successes, such as the non-cherry tomatoes and baby watermelons. The last shot is what I harvested this morning.