I'm not from Alaska, but my swiss chard is small too. Usually it's like a weed. Wonder what's up with that?

It was too hot and dry for the lettuces and spinach for me...it all bolted right away. But everything else is doing fine. We've been eating beans all summer, the asparagus keeps coming back up with this cooler weather now, we've been eating broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and cabbage for a while now. The brussel sprouts look like they'll produce pretty good. I planted the carrots too late, and forgot to plant the peas, which might be a good thing. The moose have ignored the vegetable garden this year, and I wonder if it's because of the lack of pea blossoms to bring them in. I threw the netting that was on the strawberries over the broccoli and cabbage, hoping that a bite of it would discourage moose, but so far, it hasn't been needed. At least I don't see any tracks around the vegetable garden, even though I've seen them in other parts of the yard. Oh, and I have artichokes. I thought they were too small to eat, but a neighbor who grew up in artichoke country told me yesterday that they're actually quite good that size, so guess I'll try them tomorrow.