Backyard garden experiment gets pickled

👨‍🌾 Hey, Ben here.

Quick update on my backyard garden experiment, if you're keeping up:

• I harvested a bunch of collards, kale, okra, garden beans and one beautiful cucumber the day after Thanksgiving and pickled it all.
• I've spotted a half dozen cukes on the vine, the romaine is glorious, and a bunch of cherry tomatoes will be ready soon.

Two questions if anyone has advice:

• There's a bevy of small birds getting into my squash blossoms. Time for a scarecrow?
• And how do I know when the carrots are ready to harvest?

Thanks, and happy gardening.