Monday, May 28, 2012

Towering cucumbers



The cucumbers have already grown to the top of their makeshift trellis - reaching around 6 feet tall, I guess. As can be expected, the vines are really producing fruit now, too. I'm making pickles tomorrow.  :)

Saturday, May 26, 2012

More harvests



This is what's being harvested from the garden every other day, and I guess we'll just have to break down and make a few pickles this year...

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Two ears per stalk



Most of the corn planted in the largest raised bed has at least 2 ears per stalk - which is non-existent on the crop being grown in the self watering containers......It makes a person stop and wonder why? Hmm......

Anyway,  all I can say is that it is welcomed!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Fourth harvest of squash



Yep, this is the fourth one of this size already,  and all four have been given away to friends and family. But, this one has cucumbers included * which is a new addition. Anyway,  just wanted to let everyone know that stuff was getting harvested, and I know that Granny is salivating right now.......

*Please disregard the anatomically correct yellow squash!!!! Haha.....

Monday, May 21, 2012

Plum jelly



Most of you know that I make tons of jelly each year. Well, my preserving has officially started - with these jars of plum jelly. Even after everything I've been through, I've still got it! Yeehaw!!!!

Friday, May 18, 2012

New planter



Well, I quit my job yesterday and was kinda just sitting around waiting on potential employers to give me their best offers (me and brother can do that, Ha!), and decided to build a new planter to help pass the time away.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Three more weeks



And I'll be eating corn. Yeehaw!!!!!!!! Silks are beginning to show everywhere,  and I can't wait to have some fresh from the garden.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Jude



It's hard to get a decent picture of her, because she hardly ever sits still long enough. Just ask my brother, he can tell you......Anyway, I got her attention for a nice shot over the weekend.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Critters



Most of the garden is critter proof, but of course the 4x8 raised bed is wide open to possible damage from animals in the area. It's hardly ever a problem,  but just look at this corn plant that has been eaten......My guess is a rabbit. All I know, is that Jude better get to work,  or I'm gonna move her water and food bowls out to the center of the garden. Lol.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

The 4x8 raised bed



It's used for growing watermelons each year, and as you can see in the picture - the vines are climbing the wire mesh already. I've also tucked a few corn into the same bed, and hope the inter-planting will work out okay.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Fruitset on squash



I must be pretty good at hand pollination, because there's several squash almost ready to pick now. Yum!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Plums growing too fast



Man......if it ain't one thing it's another. The plums on one of the trees have grown so fast, they are splitting wide open...... Not good at all - especially since I can't spray for the plum curculio bug now.....to do so would expose the edible part of the fruit to the agricultural pesticide I use called Imidan,  which I don't care to ingest.....Oh well, at least the other tree isn't experiencing the same problem.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Had to tie up the corn



It's reached a height of around 5 feet tall, I guess, and can easily be toppled by a strong gust of wind. So, it was tied up on Sunday afternoon before storms arrived that night. It was a good thing too, because the storms were pretty significant.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Butternut squash in May 4th



I haven't talked about these in a while, so decided to do a post on the current progress. There's 4 plants in this 4x9 raised bed - all growing toward the center, and the plan is to let all four vines grow the full length of the box. This will be a first, but I just know it'll work.....I'm hoping for at least 10 butternut squash harvested later in the season.

BTW, I wanted to point something out.....most of you know that my twin brother has a gardening blog now, but you should really check out his other one sometime. It's http://mayaruinsonly.blogspot.com  . He just started it a while back too, and I know it would interest you.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Squash flowers



An abundance of female flowers have shown up on both yellow crookneck and zucchini, but very few male - and no sign of a bee anywhere....... So, I did a little bit of hand pollinating this morning, and tomorrow will do the same. Anyway, these two were done, and I hope they turn out OK.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Megabloom



This information is really for my brother - as most other people that visit here already know that typically the first blooms to develop on a Cherokee Purple tomato plant are called megablooms, and rarely ever establish fruitset. Anyway, here's one of mine right now, just so you know what to expect.