LOL, Marilyn! Those are broccoli in the back, with green beans on the front right and potatoes in the front on the left. The tomatoes and peppers are behind the broccoli - looking pretty weak!
Edibles - '09 - Part 2
The only plants looking good here are tomatoes & beans---I haven't even had lettuce this summer!
Those gallants sure are a pain in the .......
Grandma always said that if you don't up the weed before it flowers, you will be pulling that weed for the next ten years.
How on earth is one supposed to be able to keep ALL the weeds out of the gardens??!!??
I almost hate to mention how lush all the growth is here in the veggie patches. I sure hope things dry out for all y'all, and that things start growing out your way like they are here!!!
Anyone use a shuffle hoe for those pesky weeds? I have one that I inherited and it works pretty well if you go over the weedy bed every few days while they are sprouting, as it just upends any surface stuff. I leave it to rot where it lays. It doesn't work on any weeds that have deep roots like nut grass, my nemesis. The one I have is similar to this one. Patti
http://www.smithandhawken.com/catalog/product.jsp;jsessionid=GE0BQSH1OOERWCTLNKFVAFIKNNVIUUPU?productId=prod400089p&categoryId=cat120351
I have something that looks like that. DH uses it for me because I'm a little short to get it to work right. It helps catch up on my grass, but it doen't last long. It just gets through it quicker. The grass has roots to China, that explains it! Thanks for the info.
I like the scuffle hoe for getting weeds and grass in the polished gravel beds. Cuz the pointy end gets under the stones.
Willie - your Grandma was right.......the gallant soldier has around 20 generations of seed-giving plants in one summer season. Because of the rain and our inability to get out there, several of the plants are now reaching seed-spewing time. You can't use Patti's method of leaving them there to dry up, because the seeds continue to form and spread unless the weeds are put into a trash bag and removed. Picking them all up and lugging the bags away is the back-breaking part when you are dealing with so many generations. Not a good situation any way you slice it.
Now if someone only invented flowers & veggies with that trait!
True, Marilyn. LOL But then, we'd probably have lots of invasives on our hands!
Better than the weeds!
Lucy, the funny thing is that the gallant soldiers are used for soup in other countries! To me, they are only WEEDS!!!! LOL
Heehee!
If you could see in the last picture the tape measure. They are at 3 feet high. I cant keep up with the suckers and tying them up. DH says it looks like I planted some tomatoes upside down! If you think about it they are growing approx a foot a week............ I swear I will never do a veggie garden again!
Awe .... veggie gardens are awesome!! Keeping up is half the fun!!
Looks good over there, Sherrie .... This is the first year I have pinched suckers. But just up to the first fruit set.
I think I will have a lot of tomatoes, very soon.
That was a close up of the Special Turkish Tomato I got from Cyndie in the Round Robin Seed Swap!
Here is one of the Special Turkish a bit further out. Leaning against the stump of my dearly departed old oak.
Sungold tomatoes are loading up, too
Sweet 100s are just starting to kick in
The new pumpkin volunteer patch is getting rather crowded!!
Romas (det.) and Beefsteaks (indet.) are filling in nicely.
The fencing for the beefsteaks has been installed. Romas fencing is coming very soon.
I have been pruning them so I can plant them closer together. Supposedly fewer, more robust, and more sweet fruit should be the result. We'll see, as we have a couple of control plants growing unpruned elsewhere to compare.
Brussel sprouts are starting to form.
Finally, some blossoms on the cukes!
The squash is still flowering a lot! Never noticed how nice the flowers are before.
Some are even growing into fruit!
Here's one of the larger Acorn Squash babies growing.
Black Beauty is loading up!
A lot of the leaves on the zucchini are over a foot wide already!!
The peppers seem to really like it cool and wet, too.
Tollie's Sweet Red Pepper
The eggplants are starting to form their prickly flowers
And lastly, a wider shot of the Brussel sprouts row. They are really getting tall, too!
the critters ripped out all my squash but one
:(
and my tomatoes look so puny compared to all yours... not having a good year that's for sure
My tomatoes are starting to set fruit and the cukes have flowers. The peppers are budding.
I actually have a couple of formed jalapenos though
Nothing here except mud & some pole beans that won't stop growing!
Yesterday I went out to the Gallant Soldier garden and put covers on most of my crops and then used the new Roundup Pump to spray the GS weeds with roundup. It started to sprinkle lightly while I was spraying, so I had to go back and do them again when it stopped. We'll see how this goes. I gave up on covering things when I got to the top of the garden, so we'll have to see if there was any drift as well. I have to give big kudos to the new Roundup Pump sprayer. It is so much easier to use. You depress the pump about 4 or 5 times and then you don't need to squeeze the sprayer handle for quite awhile. You just aim the sprayer at the weeds and there is a continual stream for awhile. It is also easier to contain the spray around the "good crops". Supposedly, it is ok if it rains after 10 minutes. I hate using any chemicals in my garden, but I have resorted to desparate measures here. It is raining here now, so I will have to wait a bit to go out and check on the possible demise of some of my enemies.
I hate to use any chemicals, either, but my lilies are devastated by the red lily beetle---going to Agway tomorrow for some neem oil, since a site I visited said that's effective.
"Don't worry Dahlia I'll hang on tight!" says the brave little scarlet runner bean. So much for our Joon Monsoon. Dry and windy.
Now that is really adorable, Dahlia!!! I hope you both hang on!!! LOL