Garden Friday

 

 

 

It's Garden Friday!

Let's see what's growing this week.

 

I recently discovered these blackberries growing wild

in a little section of our woods.

They have been hit-and-miss with regard to sweetness.

Or maybe I'm just too impatient to wait for them to properly ripen.

 

The butternut squash continues to scale the trellis,

but so far, only one fruit has formed.

There is no sign of squash bugs or eggs on the foliage,

and I haven't seen as many female flowers on it.

There are two other squash plants in the same bed,

but they are not doing as well.

I'm afraid they may have been affected by a squash vine borer.

 

The sweet potatoes and melons are growing well.

The melons are flowering and I am keeping tabs

on how many female flowers are on the vines. 

melons

 

Lettuce is still being harvested a few times a week

and the less than perfect leaves are given to the chooks.

Our rooster Gandolf, especially, loves his greens.

 

 

The Green Oakleaf lettuce (my favorite),

started turning bitter as it is ready to bolt,

so I pulled some of it for the chickens,

and left a couple of plants to go to seed

and resow the bed for fall.

 

A couple of different varieties of cucumbers were resown.

They decided to come up right away.

 

The drying beans are still producing,

but are not getting as plump as I'd hoped.

I'm wondering if I need to increase the amount of water

they are getting,

as we haven't had much in the way of precipitation.

 

The pumpkins are growing, despite the lack of rain.

I sure hope we get some of these this year,

as I've not yet had success growing pumpkins.

 

The loofah has made it to the top of the gazebo frame.
Thankfully, the chooks have left the pots they are growing in alone,

and it's just a matter of time before they are climbing across the top.

gloriosa daisy

vitex

 

Our crape myrtle trees are finally blooming!

I know these are a common tree, 

especially here in the south,

but I think they are one of the most spectacular displays of flowers.

The bonus is, the pollinators love 'em!

 

This little gem was spied near the chicken run.

I think my plant app identified it as some type of mallow,

but I know I didn't plant it there,

so I still have no idea what it is.

Of course, I'm saving the seeds.

Any idea out there?

 

The garden gets ample shade in the morning,

so I can work out there quite comfortably for a while.

I'm hoping to add a few more beds to the vegetable garden,

but we'll see if the budget allows.

Until then, I'm using containers as needed.

 Our summer has been fairly mild, thus far.

I can't complain about temps in the 80's,

when there are so many suffering with triple digits.

I'm inside more than I'd like,

but fall will be here soon enough.

Until then, I will keep tweaking the garden,

one daydream at a time.

 

What's your favorite thing to grow in the heat of summer?