The comedian and aspiring gardener talks about the advantages and disadvantages of a bountiful harvest.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan discusses his recurring challenges with home gardening, particularly his tendency to overestimate his ability and enthusiasm each year. Despite planning and embracing succession planting to ensure a steady harvest, he finds himself inundated with cucumbers as the season progresses.

Gaffigan humorously describes his efforts to use the cucumbers in family dishes and pickling, but admits the sheer volume becomes unmanageable. He concludes by offering his surplus to others, highlighting the common dilemma of home gardeners facing an unexpectedly successful crop.

Jim Gaffigan on the summer harvest: Too many cukes!

Now, Jim Gaffigan, with a confession. Hi. I hope you're having a good summer. I just thought I should come clean and admit here on this show that I have a problem. I'm, of course, talking about gardening. The issue is I'm not good at gardening, and I don't learn. When I say not good, I don't mean I can't grow anything. That would be preferable at this point. Additionally, I only remember I'm bad at gardening around this time of the summer. Not in May, not in June, not even in July. In August is when I realize I'm not a farmer. Heck, I'm not even a gardener. Look at how pale I am. I shouldn't even be outside. Every year, my gardening cycle repeats itself. In May, I commit to doing it right this year. I patiently wait for the last frost, and after a good five minutes of planning, I sow seeds in my garden I know my family will eat. Every year, I pledge this year is going to be different. Yet in June, I always adjust my non-existent garden plan. Okay. This year, I embrace succession planting, which has nothing to do with that HBO show, but seems to provide as much drama. I have a problem. Succession planting means to plant the same crop multiple times throughout the growing season to ensure continuous harvest. That way, I could have a steady flow of cucumbers. Pretty smart, right? In early July, my first cucumbers arrived, and, well, they were a hit. Who doesn't love a fresh cucumber spear with some salt or some hummus? Then it rained. More cucumbers. My oldest daughter does her cucumber salad, which was a hit. Sure, it cannibalized some of the family eating my fresh cucumber spears, but that's all good. Then it rained again. More cucumbers. What a bounty. Not a problem. I'm ready to pickle. My pickles are a hit. I mean, not as popular as my daughter's salad, which I think she found online. You know what I mean? She didn't come up with it. I grew the cucumbers. Then it rained again. More cucumbers. What? That's a lot. That's too much, I would say. I'm kind of confused. Then I remember I did that succession planting thing, so instead of more cucumbers, I have way, way more cucumbers, which is exactly what I've been doing for the past couple years. I don't know what I'm doing. Do you want some cucumbers? I have to get rid of them.

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