Monday, July 30, 2007

Let the Tomatoes Begin!!!


Ah - my first ripe tomato...isn't a beauty?!?! There are several more that should be ready to pick in a few days, but this here is my first beefstake of the season. The sad news is that I am losing a lot of them because there are so many they are breaking the branches! I have so many old stockings, floral tape, stakes, etc trying to keep it all in tact that in fact it looks quite tacky!
That was the good news - the bad news is that my one watermelon fell off the vine - I guess it wasn't pollinated. So to prevent that from happening with the others I started hand pollinating those too. If it worked for the zukes then it will be fine for the melons!
Yesterday I planted several spinach seeds - about 7-8 I think. The packet says that it is good for spring summer or fall planting so if all goes well in 45 days (or hopefully less) I will have an abundance of spinach! I may even try to grow some in my flower boxes seeing as nothing else seems to want to grow there! Hopefully those unsightly lettuce plants will go to seed soon. They are as high as my chest and becoming quite a nuisance to get around. There are a lot of buds, several flowers and nothing that looks like seeds. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that I can get something out of these god awful looking creatures at the end.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Hip-hip Hooray!!!

More zucchini flowers have arrived - both male and female so my stash is not yet defunct! I did cut two massive zukes off this weekend. They were both hiding under all the leaves so I didn't see them - they had to be over a foot long each. I know that is not ideal - but sometimes these things happen. I gave those to the neighbors - I already have some to cook up.

I now have two watermelons growing. One seems to be getting a "wee bit" bigger each day, but I am still not sure if it was pollinated. The other is "teensy tiny" small and has a small dried out flower on the end so again not sure if it was pollinated. There are a good number of male flowers on those plants as well and I am hpoing the ladies show up soon - the growing season here in New England is getting very, very short!

I did notice that I have some new flowers on several of my pepper plants. That is probalby because I rescued them from the overpowering tomato plant. Lots of old pantyhose and garden stakes created a much needed sunny spot for these little guys. Speaking of little guys - one of my red pepper plants is no more than 6-7" high and already has 4 peppers growing on it! I have no idea how it is going to hold them up - this may require "Gardener MacGyver" (it think that is how you spell it - anyway you get the idea) action!

More cucumbers have arrived but they do not seem to be willing to attach themselves onto the stakes that I gave them. All over the place they are - who is the master here!!! They too are going to require a bit more training, but this past weekend was B-day weekend for me and I stayed out of the garden and I am not regretting it. One weekend of neglect require twice as much energy and back work the next!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Just another day

So I have already cut 6 zukes off my plants and am sad to day that there are no more female flowers right now : (
I am hoping that this isn't it for my zucchini crop. There are a few more that will be ready to harvest in a few days but if this is it I am very disappointed. I did only plant three plants so maybe next year I will need to plant more.
I am already planning out next year's garden and I am going to double the width so I will have a full 12 feet. That way the zukes and tomatoes will have more room to branch out and not suffocate any other plants. I am also looking to grow garlic, scallions, red onions and soy beans (endamame).
My lettuce is already going to seed which is ok with me - I have had my share of salads this year! I do have two more heads of each type that I planted later in the year so I will still have a few more salads and hopefully it will time well with the tomatoes and cucumbers so I can have my own home grown salad!
I have a packet of spinach seeds that I received from Garden Solutions for being a club member - which is a membership I joined for only $14.95 per year and that gives me a 10% discount at a bunch of online places like gardensalive.com, springhill.com and brecks.com. They say it is slow to bolt and can be grown in spring summer or fall so I am hoping to find some space towards the front of the garden to plant a few.
My watermelon plants are looking really good - well at least 3 of the 6. I think the sad looking ones do not receive enough sun, so lesson learner - that location isn't so great. I have a few flowers already in bloom and a bunch of buds too. I know they need to be pollintated and the bees have not been very helpful this year. I have no problem doing it myself, but have no idea how to tell the difference from a male and female flower on watermelons. Looks like a google search is in my future!
On a side note - my window boxes look terrible!!! The purple salsa salvia is growing a lot of greenery but not a lot of blooms, something has eaten all the leaves off my royal delft (I think I have a bug problem), my african daisy are, like the salvia, growing great foliage but no blooms and my sweet potatoe blackies seem dormant. And I was so positive that my boxes would be the envy of the neighborhood - now aren't I eating crow!

Thursday, July 5, 2007

New arrivals to the Garden

Lots of activity going on in the garden over the past couple of days. Lots of new tomatoes, a whole bunch of new flowers on the cucumer plants and I now officially have two peppers growing. This picture quality is pretty poor, but I was so excited that they are actually growing I posted it anyway.



I have been self pollinating the zukes lately because I have noticed that all my female flowers are dying off and the zukes behind them too. I wasn't sure if I was doing it right so I only did a few and low and behold - I did it right!!! I have noticed a good number on the plants and am hoping I can get home from work in time tomorrow before they close so that I can pollinate them as well. I refuse to have these huge plants and nothing to show for it!

Monday, July 2, 2007

Beneficial Nematodes are our friends!

So not only do I have Aphids running wild around the rose bushes I was out weeding last week and when I pulled up a weed I got a bit o' grass with it and the whole darn chunk came up (without a lot of effort I may add) - a sure sign of grubs. I ordered some Grub Away from yup, Garden's Alive, to take care of the issue. I got 5 million nematodes - an insect that atacks insects that spend at least part of their lives in (or on) the soil (no harm will come to earth worms, I promise). I watered, re-watered, and re-watered again over three days to amke sure they got down deep into the soil. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will get rid of them. Otherwise, the front lawn doesn't look so bad.
On a different topic, I ran out of rain water this weekend. It hasn't rained in awhile so I guess my supply was dwindling w/o me even knowing. We did get a good downpour on Saturday so I have enough in the barrel to fill a few watering cans, but not too much before it goes below the level.
Had the family cookout this weekend and got to munch on the buttercrunch lettuce. I must have picked in in time because it was not bitter at all! I got LOTS of compliments from everyone on well the yard looked and how fabulous the garden was growing. Everyone was amazed that the tomatoes are already fruting and that the cukes have flowers. Of course everone offered to take the "extras" off my plate once everything is being harvested - but no lettuce takers this time. I gotta get rid of some of that - a girl can only eat so many salads!